Christopher John Morton, MBE (born 22 July 1956[1]) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England.[2] He earned 115 international caps for the England national speedway team and 7 caps for the Great Britain team, making him the third most capped England & British rider of all-time.[3]
Career
Born in Davyhulme, Lancashire, he rode bikes from a young age at the farm of Peter Collins' parents. Morton made his debut for Ellesmere Port Gunners (on loan from Belle Vue Aces) on 15 May 1973. He showed rapid improvement then following an injury to Aces Captain Chris Pusey in June 1973 he was drafted into the Belle Vue team scoring 6 points on his debut in an away meeting at Cradley Heath. The following season he became British Under-21 Champion at just 17 years of age.
He rode for Belle Vue for 18 seasons, starting for the 1973 British League season[5] and ending after the 1990 British League season.[6] During the 18 seasons he regularly averaged around the 10 point mark, including an impressive 10.30 and 10.31 in 1983 and 1984 respectively.
After retirement
He retired from riding in 1990, leaving a legacy of being one of the most significant riders ever to ride for Belle Vue. In 1991, he became the manager of Berwick Bandits in 1991.[7] He also played a major role in the introduction of speedway to Buxton in 1994.[8]
In 2005, he returned to Belle Vue as commercial manager and then in December 2006, he was part of a consortium who bought the Aces and currently holds the position of Operations Director, having previously also acted as team manager.[9][10]
He was awarded his MBE for services to speedway in 1992. In 2024, he was part of a team that undertook a marathon charity cycling ride for the Speedway Riders Benevolent Fund but was taken ill and required an emergency hernia operation.[11]
