Australia national speedway team

Australia
Team manager	Mark Lemon
Team captain	Chris Holder
Nation colour	Green/Yellow
SWC Wins	4 (1976, 1999, 2001, 2002)
Squad	Chris Holder (c) Jason Doyle Sam Masters Josh Grajczonek
World Championships
Team (SWC) 4 4 3
Pairs 0 3 0
Individual (SGP) 8 7 12

Australia is one of the major teams in international motorcycle speedway with the country regarded as the birthplace of the sport in the 1920s. The current team is managed by former rider Mark Lemon, and captained by 2012 World Champion Chris Holder. Australia finished 3rd in the 2014 Speedway World Cup Final on 2 August in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

Speedway World Cup

The Australian national speedway team has won both the Speedway World Team Cup (1960-2000) and the Speedway World Cup (2001–present) on two occasions respectively, and were a major force at the turn of the 21st century. The team won its first World Team Cup in 1976 with captain John Boulger, Phil Crump, Billy Sanders, Phil Herne and reserve Garry Middleton, but had to wait over 30 years before winning three tournaments out of four, between 1999 and 2002. Key riding members of the title wins since 1999 include Jason Crump (undefeated through the 2001 World Cup rounds and Final), Leigh Adams, Ryan Sullivan and Todd Wiltshire who took part in all three wins, while Jason Lyons rode in two (1999 and 2002) and Craig Boyce rode in 2001.

Multi-time Australian and New South Wales champion Jim Airey is the only Australian rider to win the World Team Cup not riding for Australia. He won the 1971 Speedway World Team Cup in Wrocław, Poland, as part of the Great Britain team.

The current Australian team (at the 2016 SWC) is Chris Holder, Jason Doyle, Josh Grajczonek and Sam Masters.

Year	Venue	Standings (Pts)	Australia Riders and Pts
1976	London White City Stadium	1. AUSTRALIA (31) 2. Poland (28) 3. Sweden (26) 4. Soviet Union (11)	Phil Crump	11
			Billy Sanders	7
			Phil Herne	7
			John Boulger	6
			Garry Middleton	-
1999	Pardubice Svítkov Stadion	1. AUSTRALIA (51) 2. Czech Republic (35) 3. USA (29) 4. England (29)	Leigh Adams	14
			Jason Crump	13+1
			Ryan Sullivan	12+3
			Jason Lyons	10+3
			Todd Wiltshire	2+1
2001	Wrocław Olympic Stadium	1. AUSTRALIA (68) 2. Poland (65) 3. Sweden (51) 4. Denmark (44) 5. USA (30)	Jason Crump	20
			Leigh Adams	16
			Ryan Sullivan	13
			Todd Wiltshire	10
			Craig Boyce	9
2002	Peterborough East of England Showground	1. AUSTRALIA (64) 2. Denmark (58) 3. Sweden (54) 4. Poland (48) 5. Czech Republic (36)	Leigh Adams	17
			Ryan Sullivan	17
			Jason Crump	14
			Todd Wiltshire	13
			Jason Lyons	3
Key: +1,2... - bonus points gained by finishing behind teammate +1j,+2j... - extra points gained in joker ride

Team Under-21 World Championship

Main article: Team Speedway Junior World Championship

Year	Place	Pts.	Riders
2005	—	—	Did not start in Qualifying Round 2
2006	—	—	Did not enter
2007	—	—	3rd place in Qualifying Round 1
2008	4	33	Chris Holder (16), Troy Batchelor (7), Tyron Proctor (7), Robert Ksiezak (2), Kozza Smith (1)
2009	—	—	Darcy Ward (18), Richard Sweetman (8), Justin Sedgmen (6), Josh Grajczonek (2), Mitchell Davey (1)
2010	—	—	Darcy Ward (15), Richard Sweetman (11), Sam Masters (9), Justin Sedgmen (8), Josh Grajczonek (3)
2011*	—	—	Won Semi-final 2 Darcy Ward (15), Josh Grajczonek (14), Sam Masters (13), Justin Sedgmen (11), Richard Sweetman (10)
2012	2	44	Darcy Ward (14), Nick Morris (11), Dakota North (8), Sam Masters (6), Alex Davies (5)
2013	4	20	Darcy Ward (14), Alex Davies (4), Nick Morris (3), Tyson Nelson (2)
2014	—	—	Max Fricke (10), Mason Campton (10), Nick Morris (9+2), Ryan Douglas (8)
2015	3	29	Host nation Nick Morris (12), Brady Kurtz (7), Max Fricke (6), Jack Holder (4)
2016	2	37	Jake Allen (13), Jack Holder (9), Max Fricke (8), Brady Kurtz (7), Cameron Heeps (Res - DNR)
Year	Place	Pts.	Riders

* Due to cost of travel and visa problems, Australia withdrew from the 2011 Final,

Honours

World Champions

Individual World Championship

• 1936 - London, Wembley Stadium - Lionel Van Praag 26+3pts
• 1938 - London, Wembley Stadium - Bluey Wilkinson 22pts
• 1951 - London, Wembley Stadium - Jack Young 12+3pts
• 1952 - London, Wembley Stadium - Jack Young 14pts
• 2004 - Jason Crump 158pts
• 2006 - Jason Crump 188pts
• 2009 - Jason Crump 159pts
• 2012 - Chris Holder 160pts

Individual Under-21 World Championship

• 1983* - Lonigo, Pista Speedway - Steve Baker 13pts
• 1992 - Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, Speedway Stadion Pfaffenhofen - Leigh Adams 14+3pts
• 1995 - Tampere, Ratinan Stadion - Jason Crump 13+3pts
• 2009 - Goričan, Stadium Milenium - Darcy Ward 13pts
• 2010 - Gdańsk, Daugavpils, Pardubice - Darcy Ward 30+3pts
• 2016 - King's Lynn, Pardubice, Gdańsk - Max Fricke 46pts

* Steve Baker's win in 1983 was when it was known as the European Under-21 Championship

Notable riders

• Leigh Adams • × * #
• Jim Airey × *
• Frank Arthur * †
• Steve Baker •
• Troy Batchelor *
• John Boulger × *
• Shane Bowes
• Craig Boyce × *
• Troy Butler *
• Jason Crump ♦ • × *
• Phil Crump × *
• Stephen Davies
• Glenn Doyle *
• Jason Doyle *
• Ray Duggan †
• Vic Duggan * †
• Mark Fiora
• Max Fricke • #
• Josh Grajczonek
• Max Grosskreutz * †
• Gordon Guasco †
• Gary Guglielmi
• Phil Herne
• Craig Hodgson # †
• Chris Holder ♦ *
• Vic Huxley * †
• Brady Kurtz *
• Aub Lawson * †
• Ken Le Breton †
• Bob Leverenz †
• Jason Lyons ×
• Travis McGowan #
• Garry Middleton ×
• Scott Norman
• Shane Parker
• Mick Poole
• Steve Regeling *
• Billy Sanders × * †
• Rory Schlein #
• Bob Sharp †
• Neil Street †
• Ryan Sullivan × * #
• John Titman *
• Chum Taylor *
• Lionel Van Praag ♦ †
• Bluey Wilkinson ♦ * †
• Todd Wiltshire × *
• Darcy Ward • #
• Davey Watt
• Cameron Woodward
• Jack Young ♦ †

♦ Individual World Champion
• Under-21 World Champion
× World Team Cup / World Cup Champion
* Australian Champion
# Australian Under-21 Champion
† - Deceased

See also

• Australian under-21 speedway team
• Australian Individual Speedway Championship