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Mark Courtney

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Mark Courtney
Born (1961-03-25) 25 March 1961 (age 63)
Braintree, Essex
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1978Furness Flyers
1979–1981, 1986, 1993Middlesbrough Tigers/Bears
1980–1983Leicester Lions
1984, 1986Belle Vue Aces
1985King's Lynn Stars
1987Newcastle Diamonds
1988–1990Berwick Bandits
1991, 2000, 2001Glasgow Tigers
1992, 2002, 2003Rye House Rockets
2001Trelawny Tigers
Individual honours
1980British Junior Champion
1982European U-21 silver
Team honours
1981National League Champion
1980National League Pairs Champion
1986Fours Championship winner

Mark Vincent Courtney (born 25 March 1961) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England, who rode in the British League for several teams between 1978 and 2003. He earned five international caps for the England national speedway team.[1]

Biography

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Courtney was born in Braintree, Essex in 1961 and moved with his family to Workington when he was twelve,[2] and he began his speedway career with second-half races at Workington in 1977.[3][4] He joined the Barrow team in the National League the following year, moving to Middlesbrough Tigers in 1979.[3]

He won the British Junior Championship in 1980 and moved up to the British League on loan with the Leicester Lions the same year, splitting his time between the two leagues.[5] Also in 1980, he won the National League Pairs, partnering Steve Wilcock for Middlesbrough, during the 1980 National League season.[6][7]

In 1982, he moved to Leicester full-time after a £15,000 transfer, and in the same year finished as runner-up in the European Under-21 final,[3][8] defeating Peter Ravn in a run-off for silver.[9]

In 1983, he was the Lions' highest-average rider, and represented England four times.[3] At the end of the 1983 season, Courtney requested a transfer and signed to ride for the Belle Vue Aces in 1984, and then King's Lynn Stars in 1985.

In 1986, he dropped back down to the National League with Middlesbrough, while also making fifteen appearances for Belle Vue. He helped the Middlesbrough win the Fours Championship during the 1986 National League season.[10]

A successful three-year spell at Berwick between 1988 and 1990 was followed by seasons at Glasgow, Rye House and then Middlesbrough. He was sacked by Middlesbrough at the end of the 1993 season after an incident involving a fire extinguisher at a hotel in Swindon.[2] This effectively triggered his retirement from the sport, Courtney later moving into the building trade.[2]

After being arrested in May 1997, Courtney was sentenced to six years in prison in 1998 for his part in a plot to import cannabis with a street value of £500,000 into the UK.[2]

After seven years away from racing, Courtney, released from prison on licence, returned in 2000 with Glasgow, moving on to Trelwany midway through 2001. He moved on to his final club, Rye House, in 2002, finally retiring at the end of the 2003 season, after which he became a mechanic, most notably for Chris Harris.[11]

Family

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Courtney's sons Scott Courtney and Jamie Courtney followed him into speedway, both of whom went on to manage speedway teams. Mark Courtney's brother Sean Courtney also rode from 1982 to 2000.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Belcher, David (2001) "Return of the Shale-slider", Glasgow Herald, 17 March 2001, retrieved 2011-10-30
  3. ^ a b c d Jones, Alan (2010) Speedway in Leicester: The Lions Roar, Automedia, p. 162
  4. ^ "Lions Fans hoping Jamie Courtney is a chip off the old block", Leicester Mercury, 31 March 2011, retrieved 2011-10-30
  5. ^ Oakes, Peter (1981) 1981 Speedway Yearbook, Studio Publications, ISBN 0-86215-017-5, p. 243
  6. ^ "1980 season results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Tigers pairs champs". Sunday Sun (Newcastle). 20 July 1980. Retrieved 22 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ Oakes, Peter (1982) 1982 Speedway Yearbook, Studio Publications, ISBN 0-86215-072-8, p. 239
  9. ^ "Courtney second after run-off". Leicester Daily Mercury. 19 July 1982. Retrieved 9 March 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ "Speedway". Cambridge Daily News. 11 August 1986. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ "Harris Hires Courtney", speedwayworld.tv, 8 July 2011, retrieved 2011-10-30
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