Andy Smith (speedway rider)

Polish speedway rider

Andy Smith

Andy Smith in 2007

Born|  (1966-05-25) 25 May 1966 (age 57)
York, England
Nationality| British (English)
Career history
Great Britain
1982–1988, 1998–2001, 2005| Belle Vue Aces
1989–1990| Bradford Dukes
1991, 1998, 2004| Swindon Robins
1992–1995, 1997| Coventry Bees
2003, 2007| Oxford Cheetahs
2006-2007| Reading Racers
Sweden
1991, 1993–1994| Smederna
1992| Skepparna
Poland
1992-1995, 1998, 2004| Bydgoszcz
1996| Rzeszów
1997| Tarnów
1999-2000| Piła
2001| Leszno
2002-2003| Warszawa
2005| Toruń
2006-2007| Gdańsk
Individual honours
1993, 1994, 1995| British Champion
Team honours
1982, 1992| British League Champion
2005| Knockout Cup
1997| Craven Shield Winner
1990| Gold Cup Winner
1983| British League Cup Winner

Andrew Smith (born 25 May 1966 in York, England) is a retired motorcycle speedway rider from England.[1][2]

## Career[edit]

Andy Smith (centre), 1992

Smith spent the first seven years of his career riding for the Belle Vue Aces from 1982 to 1988.[3] He then joined Bradford Dukes for two British League seasons and began to build a reputation as one of Britain's leading riders. Smith also rode in Australia, including the 1990/91 Australian season when he based himself at Claremont Speedway in Perth, Western Australia. Despite Claremont being almost twice the length of most British tracks, on 18 January 1991 Smith defeated home town hero, and twice Australian Champion Glenn Doyle in the King of Claremont Classic. Smith also finished 2nd to Sweden's Dennis Löfqvist at the 1990 Boxing Day International at the Melbourne Showgrounds.

After joining the Coventry Bees in 1992[4] he went on to win the British Speedway Championship three times in a row in 1993, 1994, and 1995, giving him the distinction of being one of only three riders ever to achieve this feat.[5]

From 1998 until 2001 Smith rode a second stint at Belle Vue and recorded a 8.27 average during the 1999 Elite League speedway season. He did not ride in the United Kingdom for the 2002 season, spending his time in Poland.

Smith riding for Oxford

In 2003, he returned to the UK and signed for Oxford (known as the Silver Machine at the time) for the 2003 Elite League speedway season. He then rode for Swindon Robins in 2004 before returning to his first club Belle Vue for the 2005 Elite League speedway season, where he helped the club win the Elite League Knockout Cup.[6]

He would spend 16 seasons racing in the Polish leagues after making his Polish league debut in 1992.[1] He also continued to ride for various clubs in England until the end of the 2007 seasons.

During his career Smith reached two World finals and rode in the Speedway Grand Prix for eight years. He represented Great Britain and his appearances included a Speedway World Cup, which was the 1999 Speedway World Team Cup.

## Family[edit]

His son Jack Smith is a speedway rider.[7]

## World Final Appearances[edit]

### Individual World Championship[edit]

* 1989 \-  Munich, Olympic Stadium \- 7th - 10pts
* 1993 \-  Pocking, Rottalstadion \- 5th - 10pts

### World Team Cup[edit]

* 1999 \-  Pardubice, Svítkova Stadion (with Chris Louis / Carl Stonehewer / Joe Screen / Mark Loram) - 4th - 29pts (0)

## Speedway Grand Prix results[edit]

Year  | Position  | Points  | Best Finish  | Notes

|
|
|
|

1995 | 19th  | 34  | 6th  |
1996 | 17th  | 19  | 8th  |
1997 | 14th  | 22  | 9th  |
1998 | 14th  | 43  | 6th  |
1999 | 20th  | 22  | 13th  |
2000 | 25th  | 10  | 19th  |
2001 | 22nd  | 12  | 17th  |
2002 | 20th  | 29  | 13th  |

## See also[edit]

* List of Speedway Grand Prix riders

## World Longtrack Championship[edit]

Finals

1991 -  Marianske Lazne 10pts (8th)

1992 -  Pfarrkirchen 5pts (12th)

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "Andy Smith". Polish Speedway Database. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
2. ^ "Andy Smith". Grasstrack GB. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
3. ^ "Andy Smith". WWOS Backup. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
4. ^ "2008 Rider index" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
5. ^ Oakes, P.(2004). British Speedway Who's Who. ISBN 0-948882-81-6
6. ^ "Belle Vue bounce back to grab cup". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
7. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 26 May 2023.