Neil Collins (speedway rider)

British motorcycle speedway rider

Neil CollinsBorn|  (1961-10-15) 15 October 1961 (age 63)
Manchester, England

|

Nationality| British (English)
Career history
1978| Ellesmere Port Gunners
1979| Nottingham Outlaws
1979, 2001| Workington Comets
1979–1980, 1984–1988, 1995| Sheffield Tigers
1980–1981| Edinburgh Monarchs
1981, 1996, 2001, 2003| Belle Vue Aces
1982–1983| Leicester Lions
1989–1990| Wolverhampton Wolves
1992, 1997| Glasgow Tigers
1993-1994| Long Eaton Invaders
1998| Stoke Potters
1999–2000| Swindon Robins
2002, 2004| Somerset Rebels
2003| Hull Vikings
2005–2006| Newport Wasps
Individual honours
1981| Grand National Winner
Team honours
1981, 2000| NL/PL Knockout Cup
1981, 2001| NL/PL Fours
2000| Young Shield

Neil Jeffrey Collins (born 15 October 1961 in Manchester, England) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England.[1][2]

## Career

[edit]

Collins started his British leagues career with Ellesmere Port Gunners during the 1978 National League season.[3] The very next season in 1979, he rode in the top tier of speedway for the Sheffield Tigers and doubled up the following season with the Edinburgh Monarchs in tier 2. He won his first silverware during the 1981 National League season, winning the Knockout Cup and helping the Monarchs win the Fours Championship.[4]

After two seasons with Leicester Lions, he returned to Sheffield in 1984, which turned out to be the season when Collins won a silver medal with the England national speedway team, after finishing runner-up in the World Team Cup final.[5][6] He remained at Sheffield for five more seasons before signing for in Wolverhampton Wolves in 1989. After Wolves he became a bit of a journeyman rider, appearing for multiple clubs but he remained a solid rider with a reliable average for most teams he rode for. In 1999 he joined Swindon Robins[7] and he following season won the 2000 Knockout Cup and Young Shield.

His final two seasons with Newport Wasps still saw him riding with an average of 7.45 and 6.88 respectively. In 2007, which would have been his thirtieth season he could not find a team place by the start of the season, largely due to the reduction in the points limit for team building purposes. Left without a club he decided to retire after 29 years in the sport.[8] When Neil retired he had broken the record for domestic appearances (1,132) in British Speedway, overtaking the record previously held by his brother Les Collins (1,084).[9] He had also reached eight British finals and earned 19 international caps for the England.[2]

## Family

[edit]

Neil has four brothers all of whom were speedway riders, Peter, Phil, Les and Stephen. His nephews Aidan and Chris were also riders but have both retired from the sport.

Married to wife Annette, they have two children, Louis and Hannah.

## World Final appearances

[edit]

### World Team Cup

[edit]

* 1984 \-  Leszno, Alfred Smoczyk Stadium (with Chris Morton / Peter Collins / Simon Wigg / Phil Collins) - 2nd \- 24pts (2)

## External links

[edit]

* Neil Collins in the Leicester Lions Scrapbook

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Oakes, P.(2004). British Speedway Who's Who. ISBN 0-948882-81-6
2. ^ a b "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
3. ^ "1978 season results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
4. ^ "Tigers miss the boat in four teams final". Cambridge Daily News. 27 July 1981. Retrieved 10 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
5. ^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
6. ^ "2008 Rider index" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
7. ^ "Ambitious King's Lynn". Manchester Evening News. 6 February 1999. Retrieved 6 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
8. ^ Bamford, Robert (2008). Methanol Press Speedway Yearbook 2008. Methanol Press. ISBN 978-0-9553103-5-5.
9. ^ Bamford, Robert (July 2008). "Retro Speedway Magazine". Retro Speedway. p. 19.