Laurie Etheridge

Laurie Etheridge
Born (1948-09-12)12 September 1948
Pulborough
Nationality British
Career history
1967 Exeter Falcons
1968-1969 Rayleigh Rockets
1968-1978 Hackney Hawks
1975-1982 Crayford Kestrels
1983 Canterbury Crusaders (speedway)
Individual honours
1975 New National League Riders Champion
Team honours
1971 British League KO Cup Winner
1971, 1973 London Cup

Laurie Etheridge (born 12 September 1948 in Pulborough, England) is a former motorcycle speedway rider in National League (speedway).

His first attempt at speedway, in 1963, was thwarted when his bike was stolen and he did not resume the sport until 1966.

In 1967, he signed for Exeter Falcons and managed three appearances for them in that season. His career really started the following year, when he was signed up for Hackney Hawks by Len Silver and their partner team Rayleigh Rockets. A good season for Rayleigh resulted in a full-time contract for Hackney.[1]

He was a Crayford regular for 8 years, achieving nearly 300 league and cup appearances as a Kestrel. Crayford held a Testimonial Season for Etheridge in 1982,[2]

Notable performances: England v Russia (1974) National League Riders Champion (1975) National League series GB v Denmark (1978) - there was also a series against Australia National League Four Team Tournament (1980) Testimonial Year Crayford Kestrels v England (1982)

In the 1975 National League Riders Championship at Wimbledon, the final race was between him and Brian Collins (speedway rider) where Collins came off in the first lap and Etheridge rode a solitary four laps to be crowned champion.

His last race was at Newcastle for Canterbury in 1983.

Post-speedway, he worked in Industrial Plumbing and Central Heating. He lives in West Sussex with his wife, Denise, and they have two married daughters and four grandchildren.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.speedwayatoz.co.uk/laurieetheridge.html|season records
  2. ↑ http://www.crayfordkestrels.co.uk/?page_id=10|history

External links


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