Richard Lawson (speedway rider)

Richard Lawson
Born (1986-02-14) 14 February 1986 (age 38)
Whitehaven, Cumbria, England
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
Great Britain
2009–2013Workington Comets
2014Redcar Cubs
2011Peterborough Panthers
2013–2016, 2018Lakeside Hammers
2015–2017Glasgow Tigers
2017–2018Somerset Rebels
2019–2021Eastbourne Eagles
2019Ipswich Witches
2020Sheffield Tigers
2021–2022, 2025King's Lynn Stars
2022–2024Poole Pirates
2023–2025Leicester Lions
Poland
2018Opole
2023Tarnów
Team honours
2018tier 1 KO Cup winner
2016, 2022, 2024tier 2 League champion
2016, 2022, 2024tier 2 KO Cup winner
2009tier 2 Fours winner
2010Young Shield

Richard Lawson (born 14 February 1986) is a British speedway rider.[1][2]

Career

He was born in Whitehaven, Cumbria.[3] After a successful junior career in motocross, which included winning the British 125cc championship in 2003, he rode professionally for Kawasaki before taking up speedway in June 2008.[3] He made his competitive debut in the Conference League for Redcar Cubs before signing to ride for Workington Comets in the Premier League in 2009.[3][4] He was part of the Workington four who won the Premier League Four-Team Championship, held on 25 July 2009, at Derwent Park.[5]

He stayed with the Comets in 2010 and also signed for Elite League Wolverhampton Wolves as their number 8.[3][6] He remained with the Comets until the end of the 2013 season, and gained further Elite League experience in 2012 with Peterborough Panthers and in 2013 with Lakeside Hammers.[3][7] He signed to ride again for the Hammers in 2014 and opted not to re-sign for the Comets.

In 2015, Lawson moved to Glasgow Tigers in the Premier League, staying with Lakeside in the Elite League.[8] He finished fourth in the averages during the 2015 Premier League speedway season and would spend three seasons in Scotland from 2015 to 2017, winning the Knockout Cup for his club in 2016. He also rode for the Somerset Rebels from 2017 to 2018, winning the division 1 Knockout Cup during the SGB Premiership 2018. In 2019, he joined the Ipswich Witches and Eastbourne Eagles in division 1 and 2 respectively and had his 2020 season with Sheffield curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2022, he rode for the King's Lynn Stars in the SGB Premiership 2022 and for the Poole Pirates in the SGB Championship 2022.[9] As part of the Poole team he helped them retain their tier 2 league and KO Cup double crown.[10][11]

He signed for Leicester Lions for the SGB Premiership 2023 and SGB Premiership 2024 seasons.[12] He also re-signed and doubled up with Poole for both the 2023[13] and 2024 Championship seasons,[14] winning the 2024 league title and knockout cup with the south coast club.[15]

Lawson returned to ride for King's Lynn for the SGB Premiership 2025.[16]

References

  1. ^ "2008 Rider index" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  2. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Rider Index", speedwaygb.co. Retrieved 23 November 2013
  4. ^ Waterhouse, Ian (2008) "New Workington Speedeay Rider Richard Lawson Aiming to Make Big Impact", News and Star, 20 November 2008. Retrieved 23 November 2013
  5. ^ "2009 Premier League Fours". You Tube. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  6. ^ "Speedway: Richard Lawson agrees move to Wolverhampton", Daily Mirror, 23 January 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2013
  7. ^ "Speedway Ace Richard Lawson Buoyed by Elite League Rides", The Cumberland News, 23 May 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2013
  8. ^ Lanning, Phil (2015) "Speedway star Richard Lawson: I couldn't wait to join Glasgow Tigers' million dollar men", Daily Record, 14 January 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2017
  9. ^ "British Speedway rider profile". British Speedway. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Pirates are Cup Kings". British Speedway. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  11. ^ "AWESOME WIN FOR LAWSON". British Speedway. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  12. ^ "Lawson joins Lions". British Speedway. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  13. ^ "Pirates stick with Lawson". British Speedway. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  14. ^ "Lawson returns to Pirates". British Speedway. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Poole Pirates crowned speedway champions". BBC. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  16. ^ "King's Lynn Stars announce 2025 line-up for Premiership campaign". Lynn News. 15 November 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.