Robert John Coles (born 12 February 1944) is a former international

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only ...

rider from England. He earned one international cap for the England national speedway team.

Biography

Coles first rode in the British speedway leagues for Plymouth Devils during the

1968 British League Division Two season The 1968 British League Division Two season was the inaugural season of a second tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain. Summary The formation of a new division 2 was a success and attracted five new clubs to league speedway, the Nelson Ad ...

. However, he was not a regular starter for the south west team until the following season in 1969. In 1970, Plymouth dropped out of the league, so Coles switched to rival club Exeter Falcons in the British League (the highest division of the United Kingdom at the time). While at Exeter in 1971, he doubled up with

Romford Bombers The Romford Bombers were a speedway team which operated from 1969 until their closure in 1971. History In 1969, a team known as the Rochester Bombers started the 1969 British League Division Two season, at Rochester in Kent. However the local co ...

in division 2 and recorded an average of 8.06. However, his season was curtailed by an accident that saw him break his leg. The 1972 season was a turbulent one, in terms of his team place, he had a solid season for Exeter but in division 2 he followed the Romford relocation of the team to West Ham Hammers. Then in mid-season West Ham folded and were replaced by Barrow Happy Faces (the name was courtesy of their sponsor at the time was Duckhams Oil - its happy face logo was prominently displayed on the team's race jackets). During the turmoil Coles recorded his best average to date, which was 8.61. After four seasons with Exeter he joined the

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

for the

1974 British League season The 1974 British League season was the 40th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the tenth season known as the British League. Summary The 1973 Champions Reading didn't compete as they no longer had a stadium, following t ...

and would double up for

Mildenhall Fen Tigers The Mildenhall Fen Tigers are a British speedway team, founded in 1975 and currently riding in the National Development League. History 1971–1989 The original track was built in 1971 on farm land owned by Terry Waters, with chef Bernie Klat ...

in the National League. He stayed with Mildenhall from 1975 to 1978, where he topped the Mildenhall team averages during three of his four seasons with the club and became the club captain. Coles joined

Weymouth Wildcats The Weymouth Wildcats were a British motorcycle speedway team based in Weymouth, England, who raced in the National League (speedway), National League. The Wildcats won the first Conference League (speedway), Conference League Championship in t ...

in 1980 but poor form as team captain in 1981 led to his transfer back to his old club Exeter. His form returned and he finally won a team honour during the

1983 National League season The 1983 National League was the second tier of motorcycle speedway racing in the United Kingdom. Summary The winning team was Newcastle Diamonds. After the tragedy of losing a rider the previous season Milton Keynes endured a second loss when ...

, when he helped Exeter win the

Knockout Cup A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

Personal life

His son Michael Coles and grandson

Connor Coles Connor Coles (born 7 September 1994) is a speedway rider from England. Speedway career Coles began his speedway career riding for Rye House Raiders during the 2012 National League speedway season and then moved to Kent Kings for the 2013 Nati ...

both became professional speedway riders.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coles, Bob 1944 births Living people British speedway riders Barrow Bombers riders Exeter Falcons riders Mildenhall Fen Tigers riders Newport Wasps riders Plymouth Devils riders Romford Bombers riders Weymouth Wildcats riders