Ryan Sullivan
Brovst | |
2010 | Slangerup |
---|---|
Individual honours | |
1990, 1991 | South Australian Under-16 Champion |
Australian Champion | |
2009 | Alfred Smoczyk Memorial winner |
Team honours | |
Polish Extraleague |
Ryan Geoffrey Sullivan (born 20 January 1975, in
Career
Australia
Juniors
Sullivan's family moved from
His parents bought him a junior speedway bike and he had his first ride at the Olympic Park Speedway in Mildura in 1985, although his home track was the Sidewinders Speedway in the Adelaide suburb of Wingfield, a 112m long track run by the Sidewinders Junior Speedway Club solely aimed at junior Motorcycle speedway development. Within a few seasons Sullivan was seen as one of the best junior riders in South Australia, winning the South Australian Under-16 Individual title in 1990 and 1991 while winning the Pairs Championships in 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991.
Sullivan finished in second place at the 1990 Australian Under-16 Championship in Perth behind future Australian teammate and three time World Champion Jason Crump. He would go one better on 12 January 1991 winning his first individual Australian title at his home track in Adelaide.
Ryan Sullivan won three Australian Under-16 Pairs Championships, first in 1989 with that year's National Individual Champion Brett Tomkins, and backing that up in 1990 teaming with fellow Adelaide rider Troy Norvil. He won his third and last junior pairs title on 13 January 1991 paired with Brett Woodifield, a week before his 16th birthday at which time he would graduate into the senior ranks. Due to e missed winning the
Seniors
Sullivan's first senior speedway championship came on 14 April 1991 when he won the track championship at the Westline Speedway in South Australia's "steel city" Whyalla, just three months after graduating to the senior ranks. Sullivan was unbeaten in the heats to finish on 12 points, 4 clear of meeting favourite Brett Tomkins before going on to win the final from Paul Schevienen and Troy Norvill.
After having gained his motor mechanic qualifications at age 19, Sullivan was regarded one of the best young riders in Australia, going on to win three
One of the first big wins of Sullivan's career came when he took out Round 4 of the 1996
Sullivan scored his first podium finish in the
In 2004, Sullivan became the first South Australian rider to win the Australian Championship since
England
Sullivan has spent most of his British career with the Peterborough Panthers. He won the Elite League Riders' Championship, held at the Brandon Stadium on 21 October 2000.[5]
Although he had not ridden in Britain since 2006, in August 2008 he returned to ride for Peterborough until the end of that season. He has also ridden for the Poole Pirates but returned to the Panthers on a full transfer in 2006. He went on to ride in Sweden (Rospiggarna), Poland (Unibax Torun) and Russia (Togliatti). He returned to Peterborough in 2012 to replace the injured Kenneth Bjerre, but suffered a hand injury which ended his season and led to announcing his retirement from the sport in March 2013.[6]
International
Sullivan qualified for the
Sullivan's first big international career win came when he defeated triple-Australian Champion
In
In both 1997 and 2003, Sullivan won the prestigious
In
Sullivan's last major win came in 2009 at the Alfred Smoczyk Memorial in Leszno, Poland.
Speedway Grand Prix
Sullivan was a Speedway Grand Prix rider from 1998 until 2006 and won four Grand Prix meetings. In the 2002 Speedway Grand Prix series he won the British Grand Prix in Cardiff and the Slovenian Grand Prix in Krško. In the 2003 Speedway Grand Prix series he won the Swedish Grand Prix in Avesta and the Scandinavian Grand Prix in Gothenburg, Sweden.
In September 2008, he made it through to the Grand Prix Challenge – the final of the 2009 Grand Prix qualification rounds. Despite winning his first three heats, he only scored one point in his following two rides and failed to qualify for the 2009 Speedway Grand Prix.
World Final Appearances
World Team Cup
- ) - Winner - 40pts (12)
- 2000 - Coventry, Brandon Stadium (with Jason Crump / Todd Wiltshire / Leigh Adams / Craig Boyce) - 4th - 29pts (2)
World Cup
- ) - Winner - 68pts (13)
- 2002 - Peterborough, East of England Showground (with Todd Wiltshire / Jason Lyons / Leigh Adams / Jason Crump) - Winner - 64pts (17)
- ) - 2nd - 57pts (10)
- ) - 4th - 35pts (4)
- 2007 - Leszno, Alfred Smoczyk Stadium (with Jason Crump / Chris Holder / Leigh Adams / Davey Watt / Rory Schlein) - 3rd - 29pts (7)
- ) - 4th - 21pts (5)
Individual Under-21 World Championship
- - 3rd - 12+3pts
- - 2nd - 11+3pts
Speedway Grand Prix results
Year | Position | Points | Best finish | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | 7th | 68 | 2nd | Second in Polish Grand Prix |
1999 | 10th | 55 | 3rd | Third in Poland II Grand Prix |
2000 | 9th | 62 | 2nd | Second in British Grand Prix |
2001 | 4th | 80 | 3rd | Third in Swedish Grand Prix |
2002 | 3rd | 158 | Winner | Won British and Slovenian Grand Prix |
2003 | 9th | 94 | Winner | Won Swedish and Scandinavian Grand Prix |
2004 | 13th | 65 | 4th | |
2005 | 14th | 45 | 6th | |
2006 | 18th | 10 | 4th |
References
- ^ "Individual Australian Championship". Historia Sportu Zuzlowego. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
- ISBN 0-948882-81-6
- ISBN 0-316-72645-1.
- ^ "Ryan Geoffrey Sullivan Australia". Polish Speedway Database. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - MODERN ERA (1991-PRESENT)". British Speedway. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
- ^ "Aussie Star Sullivan Retires Archived 6 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine", speedway365.com, 18 March 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013