Peter Collins (speedway rider)

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For other people named Peter Collins, see Peter Collins (disambiguation).
Peter Collins
MBE
Born (1954-03-24) 24 March 1954 (age 70)
Manchester, England
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1971Rochdale Hornets
1971–1986Belle Vue Aces
Individual honours
1976
Intercontinental Champion
1974, 1977Golden Sovereign
1976, 1979Manpower Trophy
1976Golden Gauntlets
1977Skol Masters
1978Superama
Team honours
1971, 1972, 1982British League Champion
1972, 1973, 1975British League KO Cup winner
1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1980World Team Cup Winner
1977, 1980, 1983, 1984World Pairs Champion
1984British League Pairs Champion
1975, 1976, 1977, 1978Northern Trophy
1983British League Cup

Peter Spencer Collins MBE (born 24 March 1954)[1] is a former speedway rider[2] who spent his whole career (1971–1986) with the Belle Vue Aces, the team he supported as a child.

During his career, Peter Collins won 10 World Championships in speedway competition (one

England national speedway team (a record) and 9 caps for Great Britain.[4]

Early life

Collins was born on 24 March 1954 at the

Shell before leaving to concentrate on his speedway career.[5]

Career

Belle Vue Aces

In 1971, Collins rode for Belle Vue and the now defunct

average of 8.44 in British League matches while still only eighteen years of age. In addition the Aces won the league and cup double that year. He won the British League Riders' Championship in 1974 and 1975.[6][7]

Peter won the British Speedway Championship in 1979.

World Individual championships

In 1973 he qualified for his first Speedway World Championship in Chorzów, Poland. Peter again qualified for the World Final in 1974 finishing in equal fourth place with a creditable nine points. He did however win the British League Riders Championship (BLRC) at Hyde Road. The 1975 World Final was held at Wembley but resulted in disappointment for Collins who again finished just off the podium. The 1976 final proved to be the highlight of his career however as he became World Champion with fourteen points in Katowice, Poland.[8] In 1977 however, he was injured whilst riding at his home track, badly breaking his leg. He attempted to defend his title, in extreme pain and unable to walk without crutches; he narrowly missed out, finishing second.

World Pairs Championships

Collins won four

Malcolm Simmons. In 1980 he partnered Dave Jessup to victory in Krsko, Yugoslavia. Yorkshireman Kenny Carter was his partner in Gothenburg in 1983 whilst he was paired up with fellow Mancunian Belle Vue Ace Chris Morton for his final pairs title in 1984 at Lonigo in Italy.[5] He also finished second with Carter to the American pairing of Bobby Schwartz and Dennis Sigalos in the 1982 World Pairs Final
in Sydney.

England's win in the 1983 World Pairs Final was considered lucky. Collins was lucky to be allowed to re-start Heat 10 against

Australian pair Billy Sanders and Gary Guglielmi by just one point to win the title. Ironically, later in the meeting Sanders (to that point undefeated on the day) had like Collins fallen on the slick track in turn 1 of their heat against the West Germans. Although he had let Collins re-start after falling, the FIM
referee of the meeting, Australian Sam Bass, had no hesitation in excluding his fellow countryman from the re-run which was ultimately won by Guglielmi. With the West Germans out of form at Ullevi it was likely Australia would have scored a 5–1 result had Sanders not been excluded. Ultimately, both decisions by Bass helped England secure their record 6th World Pairs title.

World Team Cup

Collins was a five time World Team Cup champion. His first title came with

England in 1974 (Wrocław, Poland), 1975 (Norden, West Germany), 1977 (Wrocław) and 1980 (Wrocław). He also finished second in 1978 (Landshut, West Germany), 1983 (Vojens, Denmark) and 1984 (Leszno
, Poland).

After Speedway

On his retirement, he became part of the team responsible for saving the club following the sale of the Hyde Road stadium, and taking the team back to their then original home on Kirkmanshulme Lane. He also became a respected television commentator with Sky Sports.

In November 2001 he was awarded an MBE for services to motorcycle racing.[9]

Family

Peter has four brothers all of whom were speedway riders, Les (who finished second behind Bruce Penhall in the 1982 World Final in Los Angeles), Phil, Neil and Stephen. With his wife Angela he has a son and daughter.[5] His son Chris and nephew Aidan were also riders but have both retired from the sport.

World final appearances

Individual World Championship

World Pairs Championship

World Team Cup

* 1973 for

England
.

World Longtrack

European Grasstrack Championship

Finals

1978 England Hereford - 8th - 15pts

References

  1. ISBN 0-948882-30-1
  2. ISBN 978-0-244-72538-9
  3. ISBN 0-316-72645-1
    .
  4. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d Lanning, Russell (1985) "Rider Profile: Peter Collins", Speedway Star, 18 May 1985, p. 20-21
  6. ^ "Speedway". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 21 October 1974. Retrieved 2 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "Collins keeps his title". Sunday Sun (Newcastle). 19 October 1975. Retrieved 2 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
  9. ^ "MBE for Aces Legend". Manchester Evening News. 3 November 2001. Retrieved 23 September 2008.

External links

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