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Scott Nicholls

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Not to be confused with Scott Nichols.

Scott Nicholls
Nicholls in 2017
Born (1978-05-16) 16 May 1978 (age 46)
Ipswich, England
NationalityBritish (English)
Websitewww.nichollsracing.com
Career history
Great Britain
1994, 2018–2022Peterborough
1995–1998, 2001–2003, 2009–2010Ipswich
1999–2000Poole
2004–2007, 2009, 2012–2013Coventry
2008Eastbourne
2011Swindon
2014–2016Belle Vue
2017–2018Rye House
2018–2019Leicester
2019Wolverhampton
2020–2021Kent
2022–2024Oxford
Sweden
1998–2006Smederna
2007–2008Hammarby
2009–2010, 2012Vargarna
2011Valsarna
2015Indianerna
2016Piraterna
Poland
1999, 2011-2012Gniezno
2000Leszno
2001-2003, 2009Wrocław
2005-2006Tarnów
2007-2008, 2014, 2016Rzeszów
2010Miskolc
2013Grudziądz
2015Ostrów
2017Kraków
2023Rawicz
Denmark
2013Munkebo
Germany
2010MC Gustrow
Czech Republic
2013Pardubice
Speedway Grand Prix statistics
SGP Number9
Starts67[1]
Podiums5 (0–4–1)
Finalist9 times
Individual honours
1998, 1999British Under-21 Champion
2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012British Champion
2005Golden Helmet of Pardubice (CZE)
2021Olympique
Team honours
1998, 2005, 2007, 2021Elite League/Premiership Champion
1998, 2006, 2007, 2008Elite League KO Cup Winner
1998, 2007Craven Shield Winner
2019SGB Championship
2018SGB Championship Fours

Scott Karl Nicholls (born 16 May 1978)[2] is an English motorcycle speedway rider,[3] who has won the British Championship seven times,[4] and was a full participant in the Speedway Grand Prix series between 2002 and 2008. He earned 8 international caps for the England national speedway team and 27 caps for the Great Britain team.[5] He is also a speedway commentator.

Career

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Nicholls in 2007

Born in Ipswich,[6] Nicholls began his speedway career in grasstrack racing becoming National Schoolboy champion in 1993. His first international appearance came in 1996 when he was selected to ride for Great Britain in the Speedway World Cup final. He then became British Under-21 Champion in 1998 and again in 1999.[6]

His first experience of the Speedway Grand Prix series came with a wild card ride in Britain, with similar rides following in 2000 and 2001. He qualified as a full-time Grand Prix rider in 2002 and capped that season with a second place in the season ending event in Australia. That year he also won the first of his six British Championships. His sixth British Championship win occurred in 2011.[7]

Nicholls was the most successful ever Coventry Bees captain, skippering them to five trophies in three seasons between 2004 and 2007, including two Elite League championships.[6] He rode for Eastbourne Eagles in 2008. Despite quitting the British Elite League to reduce his racing schedule in 2009, Nicholls returned to the Coventry Bees in May 2009 as temporary cover for the injured Olly Allen.[8]

Nicholls led his home club, the Ipswich Witches for the 2010 Elite League season, as well as riding for Vargarna in the Swedish league and Miskolc, a Hungarian team in the Polish league. With Ipswich dropping down a division, Nicholls signed for Swindon Robins for 2011.[8] After an unsuccessful spell with the Robins, Nicholls returned to parent club Coventry Bees for the 2012 season, in which he won the Olympique individual meeting at Monmore Green Stadium,[4] staying with the Bees in 2013.[8]

From 2013, he made himself unavailable for the Great Britain team, but reversed his decision in 2016.[9] He signed to ride for Belle Vue Aces in 2014 and extended his contract in 2015.[10]

After spending 2017 with Rye House Rockets, he started the 2018 SGB Premiership season with them, and rode for Peterborough Panthers in the SGB Championship. He was part of the Peterborough team that won the SGB Championship Fours, which was held on 1 July 2018, at the Media Prime Arena.[11] The Rockets folded mid-season in 2019, but he was signed by Leicester Lions, with whom he stayed with for the remainder of the 2019 season and helped them win the SGB Championship 2019.[12]

After the COVID-19 pandemic affected the 2020 season, he won the league title with Peterborough for the 2021 season. During the latter part of the 2021 season he also won the Olympique.[13]

Nicholls was appointed captain of the Oxford Cheetahs for the SGB Championship 2022 season. The Cheetahs were returning to action after a 14-year absence from British Speedway.[14][15] In addition he rode for Peterborough in the SGB Premiership 2022.[16]

He remained with the Oxford Cheetahs for the SGB Championship 2023[17] and SGB Championship 2024 seasons.[18]

Major results

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World individual Championship

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Speedway Grand Prix results

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Year Position Points Best finish Notes
1999 27th 3 19th A single wild card ride in Coventry
2001 33rd 4 17th Wild card ride in Cardiff
2002 13th 72 2nd First podium in Australia (2nd place)
2003 7th 102 2nd Second in Sweden
2004 12th 66 6th Missed Czech GP through injury
2005 9th 72 5th
2006 11th 83 2nd Missed Czech GP through injury, 2nd in Italy
2007 8th 91 2nd Finished 2nd in Slovenia, qualified for 2008 GPs after a race-off
2008 9th 77 4th

World team Championships

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Commentary

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Nicholls was the lead on-track commentator for the 2022 Speedway Grand Prix and 2023 Speedway Grand Prix series.[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Świat Żużla, No 2 (78) 2009, page 15, ISSN 1429-3285
  2. ^ Oakes, P.(2004). British Speedway Who's Who. ISBN 0-948882-81-6
  3. ^ "Scott Karl Nicholls Wielka Brytania". Polish Speedway Database. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Scott Nicholls sees off Wolves legends", Express & Star, 17 October 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2018
  5. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  6. ^ a b c "2018 Rider Index: N", speedwaygb.co.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2018
  7. ^ "Nicholls wins British crown". Sky Sports. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
  8. ^ a b c "Friendly Rivalry", speedwaygp.com, 4 November 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2018
  9. ^ "Buster Chapman plays a key role as Scott Nicholls bids for a Great Britain return", Norwich Evening News, 25 February 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2018
  10. ^ Bromley, Hayley (2014) "Scott Nicholls signs new deal with Belle Vue Aces", Manchester Evening News, 1 December 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2018
  11. ^ "2018 Fours final" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  12. ^ Łapczyńska, Katarzyna (2018) "Scott Nicholls z nowym kontraktem. Wciąż jest wielką marką", sportowefakty.wp.pl, 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018
  13. ^ "Monmore fan Scott Nicholls is the Olympique champion". Express and Star. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  14. ^ "Speedway and Oxford Cheetahs set to return to Oxford Stadium". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  15. ^ "Oxford Cheetahs: Speedway side set for British Championship return in 2022". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  16. ^ "British Speedway rider profile". British Speedway. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  17. ^ "Cheetahs name team for 23". British Speedway. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  18. ^ "Cheetahs name their side". British Speedway. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
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