Rick France

Rick France
Born(1938-07-12)12 July 1938
Birmingham, England
Died24 January 2024(2024-01-24) (aged 85)
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1960-1972Coventry Bees
1961Middlesbrough Bears
1962Leicester Hunters
1963Wolverhampton Wolves
1973Sheffield Tigers
1974-1975Halifax Dukes
Individual honours
1967Speedway World Championship finalist
Team honours
1968British League Champion
1967British League KO Cup Winner
1963Provincial League Champion
1966, 1969, 1970Midland Cup
1973Northern Trophy

Derek Edward Rick France (12 July 1938 – 24 January 2024) was an international motorcycle speedway rider from England.[1][2]

Speedway career

France reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in the 1967 Individual Speedway World Championship.[3]

France rode in the top tier of British Speedway from 1960 to 1975, riding primarily for Coventry Bees.[4][5] He was capped by the England national speedway team once and Great Britain four times.[6][2]

World final appearances

Individual World Championship

Death

France died on 24 January 2024, at the age of 85.[7][8][9]

References

  1. ^ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  3. ^ "World Speedway finals" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Boost for Bees: France may be back for Lynn match". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 12 April 1969. Retrieved 21 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "History Archive". British Speedway. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  7. ^ "I'm really saddened to hear of the passing of Rick France this week aged 85". Halifax & Bradford Dukes Speedway Page on Facebook. 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  8. ^ "RIP Rick France". World Speedway Riders Association WSRA Social on Facebook. 30 January 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Derek Edward France". Probate Search. Retrieved 26 October 2024.