Simon Wigg

Simon Wigg
Born(1960-10-15)15 October 1960
Aylesbury, England
Died15 November 2000(2000-11-15) (aged 40)
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
Great Britain
1980–1982Weymouth Wildcats
1981–1983Cradley Heathens
1981Birmingham Brummies
1984–1986, 1988–1990Oxford Cheetahs
1987Hackney Kestrels
1991–1992Bradford Dukes
1993Coventry Bees
1995Long Eaton Invaders
1996Exeter Falcons
1997–1998King's Lynn Stars
Sweden
1990Indianerna
1992-1993, 1995Vetlanda
Individual honours
1985, 1986Mr Melbourne winner
1985, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994Long Track World Champion
1988, 1989British Speedway Champion
1989Commonwealth Final winner
1990, 1994, 1995Australian Long track Grand Prix
1994New Zealand Long track Grand Prix
1994Golden Helmet of Pardubice
1996Grand Prix Challenge
1981, 1984, 1993Ace of Aces Grasstrack Champion
1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1990British Masters Grasstrack Champion
Team honours
1989World Team Cup Winner
1982National League Pairs Champion
1983, 1985, 1986, 1989British League Champion
1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1992British League KO Cup winner
1985, 1986British League Pairs Champion
1982British League Cup Winner
1990Swedish Elite League winner
1983Midland Cup Winner

Simon Antony Wigg (15 October 1960 – 15 November 2000) was an English speedway, grasstrack and longtrack rider. He won five World Long Track Championships and finished runner-up in the Speedway World Championship in 1989.[1][2] He earned 57 international caps for the England national speedway team.[3]

Education

Wigg went to school at the John Hampden School in High Wycombe. Leaving in 1977 after taking his O'levels.[4] After relocating with his family several times as a child, he gained a scholarship to Woodbridge School in Suffolk, where he and his brother began their interest in motorcycle racing, attending Ipswich Witches meetings at Foxhall and riding in grasstrack competitions.[5]

Career

Wigg was born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.[6][5] In 1980, he joined his first speedway club, Weymouth Wildcats,[5] and in 1982, Wigg won the British League Division Two Pairs Championship with Martin Yeates with the sea-side town club.[7] After joining Cradley Heath in 1983,[8][9] he won the treble of league, Knockout Cup and Midland Cup.[10]

In 1984, he was signed by Oxford Cheetahs who bought him from Cradley Heath Heathens for £25,000. The Oxford team had returned to the British League and the other signings to start as the top five riders for the season were Hans Nielsen for a record £30,000, Marvyn Cox for £15,000, Melvyn Taylor for £12,000 and Jens Rasmussen, with Ian Clark and Nigel Sparshott at 6 & 7.[11] It was in 1984 that he qualified for his first World Final.[5]

After a mid table finish in 1984 he was part of the Oxford team that won the league and cup double during a 1985 British League season.[11] Also in 1985, he became the second British World Longtrack Champion (Michael Lee was the first in 1981) and went on to win the title a further four times.[5] He was the most successful British grasstrack and longtrack rider ever.[5]

Wigg while riding in Oxford, met his wife to be, Charlie, and after a few years together they had two children.[5] In 1986, Wigg was part of the Oxford team that won a second consecutive league and cup double during the 1986 British League season.[11]

1988 saw him become British Speedway Champion and he retained the title the following year.[5] 1989 also saw him captain the Great Britain speedway team when they won the World Team Cup.[5] In 1989, he won the Commonwealth Final[12] and then finished runner-up to his Cheetahs teammate Hans Nielsen in the World Final at the Olympiastadion in Munich.[5] His team Oxford also won the league title in the 1989 British League season.

He rode in the Polish League for Unia Tarnów in 1992 (10 matches, CMA 9.89), Unia Leszno (1994, 2 matches, 6.80), Stal Rzeszów (1997, 1 match, 11.00) and Falubaz Zielona Góra (1998, 1 match, 6.40). In 1993, he joined Coventry Bees for the season.[13]

In October 1996, during the Speedway Grand Prix Qualification he won the GP Challenge, which ensured that he claimed a permanent slot for the 1997 Grand Prix.[14]

During his career, Wigg was a frequent visitor to Australia and always enjoyed success on the larger Showground tracks down under such as the Brisbane Exhibition Ground, the 510 metres (560 yd) Wayville Showground in Adelaide, the Claremont Speedway in Perth, and the Melbourne Showgrounds. During his time riding in both Australia and New Zealand, Wigg won the Australian Long track Grand Prix in 1990, 1994 and 1995, as well as the New Zealand Long track Grand Prix in 1994.

Wigg was also famous for his bright green leathers and bikes, being nicknamed "The Lean Green Racing Machine". He rode in 65 meetings for England.[5]

Death

After suffering epileptic seizures in November 1998 and January 1999, which were originally attributed to head trauma from racing crashes,[15] he was diagnosed with a brain tumour, and had surgery to remove it in May 1999.[5][16] After recovering, he moved with his family to Gold Coast, Queensland, but after falling ill again in February 2000, returned to the UK for further surgery after discovering that the tumour had regrown.[5] Wigg died on 15 November 2000 at the age of 40.

World Longtrack Championship record

Five Times Champion

Final

Grand Years

1998 Four G.P. 40pts (10th)

World Speedway final appearances

World Championship

World Pairs Championship

World Team Cup

Speedway Grand Prix results

Year Position Points Best finish Notes
1997 17th 13 10th -

British Grasstrack Championship Record

References

  1. ^ Rogers, G.(2005). Wiggy!: Simon Wigg in His Own Words . ISBN 0-9548336-7-8
  2. ^ Montague, Trevor (2004). The A-Z of Sport. Little, Brown. p. 532. ISBN 0-316-72645-1.
  3. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  4. ^ "People educated at John Hampden Grammar School". Famous Fix. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Simon Wigg" (obit.), Daily Telegraph, 22 November 2000. Retrieved 22 August 2019
  6. ^ Oakes, P & Rising, P (1986). 1986 Speedway Yearbook. Spotsdata. ISBN 0-948882-00-X
  7. ^ "Bruce snubs star event". Sunday Mirror. 29 August 1982. Retrieved 23 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "Cradley poised to sign £25,000 Wigg from Weymouth". Wolverhampton Express and Star. 15 January 1983. Retrieved 23 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ "Wigg poised to join Cradley's title hunt". Wolverhampton Express and Star. 22 January 1983. Retrieved 31 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ "Cradley's treble glory!". Birmingham Mail. 25 October 1983. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ a b c Bamford/Shailes, Robert/Glynn (2007). The Story of Oxford Speedway. Tempus Publishing Ltd. pp. 128–135. ISBN 978-0-7524-4161-0.
  12. ^ Oakes, Peter (1990). Speedway Yearbook 1990. Front Page Books. p. 10. ISBN 0-948882-15-8.
  13. ^ "Coventry announce signings". Northampton Chronicle and Echo. 8 March 1993. Retrieved 30 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. ^ "HISTORICAL LIST OF RESULTS 1995-2013 Speedway Grand Prix - Qualifications". Speedway History. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  15. ^ Longmore, Andrew (1999) "Speedway: The Interview Simon Wigg: Tracks of a speed star's tears", The Independent, 28 March 1999. Retrieved 22 August 2019
  16. ^ "Speedway: Tumour shock for Wigg", Oxford Mail, 19 April 2000. Retrieved 22 August 2019
  17. ^ "Danes defeat spirited challenge". Sandwell Evening Mail. 29 June 1987. Retrieved 11 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.