Neil Evitts

Neil Evitts
Born (1964-09-25) 25 September 1964 (age 60)
Birmingham, England
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1980Stoke Potters
1980, 1981-1983Birmingham Brummies
1981, 1993Wolverhampton Wolves
1984-1985Halifax Dukes
1986-1990Bradford Dukes
1991-1992Sheffield Tigers
Individual honours
1986British Champion
Team honours
1991, 1992, 1993British League KO Cup Winner

Neil Clive Evitts (born 25 September 1964 in Birmingham, England) is a former English international motorcycle speedway rider.[1] He was the 1986 British champion and earned 27 international caps for the England national speedway team.[1]

Career

Evitts began his British leagues career riding for Stoke Potters during the 1980 National League season.[2] In 1981, he doubled up riding for Birmingham Brummies in the British League and Wolverhampton Wolves in the National League.[3] By the end of 1983 he had improved his average to 6.88 and moved on to join the Halifax Dukes.[4][5]

In 1986, Halifax became Bradford and Evitts recorded a 9.32 season average in 1986. It was also during 1986 that he experienced individual success becoming the champion of Britain after winning the British Speedway Championship. His win surprised many defeating the likes of Jeremy Doncaster, Chris Morton and Simon Wigg but he proved that it was no fluke by qualifying for the 1986 Individual Speedway World Championship final, where he finished in eighth place.[6]

In 1987, he finished runner-up in the British Championship and became the captain of the England speedway team. On the domestic front he continued to ride for Bradford until 1991, when he joined the Sheffield Tigers for the 1991 British League Division Two season.[7]

He finished his career in 1995 after riding a few times for Belle Vue Aces. He had been troubled by a persistent a knee injury.[8]

World final appearances

Individual World Championship

World Team Cup

References

  1. ^ a b "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  2. ^ "1980 season results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Jon Erskine". WWOS backup. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Team taking shape as new season looms". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 21 February 1985. Retrieved 29 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  6. ^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
  7. ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  8. ^ "Schofield clinches his dream move". Manchester Evening News. 10 June 1995. Retrieved 20 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.