Barry Briggs (born 30 December 1934) is a New Zealand former
speedway rider.
Career
He won the
World Individual Championship title four times – in 1957, 1958, 1964 and 1966.
[Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ] He appeared in a record 17 consecutive World Individual finals (1954–70), and a record 18 in all, during which he scored a record 201 points. He also won the
London Riders' Championship
The London Riders' Championship was an individual speedway competition for top riders of teams from London. It was a very prestigious competition, especially in its early days. However, as the number of teams from London dwindled, so did interest ...
in 1955 whilst riding for the
Wimbledon Dons
The Wimbledon Dons were a professional motorcycle speedway team who operated from the Wimbledon Stadium, Plough Lane in London.Jacobs, N. ''Speedway in London'',
The track opened in 1928 and the Dons operated there from 1929 until 1991. They w ...
.
[Jacobs, Norman (2001). ''Speedway in London''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing ] He is also a six-time winner of the
British Championship. He won the first final in 1961 and then dominated the sixties titles by winning in 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, and 1969.
[Belton, Brian (2003). ''Hammerin' Round''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing ] Briggs also twice won his home title, the
New Zealand Championship, winning in 1959 and again in 1963.
Briggs also created a domestic record by winning the
British League Riders Championship for six consecutive years from 1965–1970, representing the
Swindon Robins
The Swindon Speedway team, also known as the Swindon Robins, are an English motorcycle speedway team established in 1949 that have competed primarily in the top division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom. They are five times ...
.
Briggs retired from British league racing in 1972 after an accident during Heat 5 of the
World Final at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
with Swedish rider
Bernt Persson
Bernt Eveart Persson (24 June 1946 to 20 September 2020) was a Swedish international speedway rider who finished runner up in the 1972 Speedway World Championship final. He rode in Britain for the Edinburgh Monarchs, the Cradley Heath Heathens ...
. As a result of the accident, Briggs lost the index finger of his left hand,
[Bott, Richard (1973) ''The Champions Book of Speedway No. 4'', Stanley Paul & Co. Ltd., , pp. 24–31] but returned in 1974, then announcing in 1975 that this would be his last season but actually returning for another year with Hull Vikings, retiring for a final time in 1976.
During the early to mid-1970s, Briggs was one of a number of World Champion riders (along with fellow kiwi
Ivan Mauger
Ivan Gerald Mauger (4 October 1939 – 16 April 2018) was a New Zealand motorcycle speedway rider. He won a record six World Championships (Finals), a feat equalled only with the inclusion of the Speedway GP Championships by Tony Rickardsson ...
and
Denmark
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, establish ...
's
Ole Olsen) as well as a number of others such as
Edward Jancarz and
Zenon Plech
Zenon Plech (1 January 1953 – 25 November 2020) was a Polish international motorcycle speedway rider.
He finished third in the Speedway World Championship in 1973 and as the runner-up in 1979.
Career summary
Plech won the Polish National Cha ...
from
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
and England's
Chris Pusey
Chris Pusey (born June 30, 1965 in Brantford, Ontario) is a former professional ice hockey goaltender. He is notable for returning after retiring from professional ice hockey, with the Dundas Real McCoys, an OHA senior team, and the club made ...
, who embarked on world tours to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
, his native New Zealand and the
USA. Their trips to the USA, primarily the
Costa Mesa Speedway in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
, helped spark the American motorcycle speedway scene which had been dormant on the world stage since the pre-
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
days of
1937 World Champion Jack Milne
John Walter Milne (4 June 1907 in Buffalo, New York, United States – 6 December 1995 in Pasadena, California, United States) was an international Speedway rider. He became the first American to win a motorcycling world championship when he won ...
, his brother
Cordy Milne
Corydon Clark Milne (April 14, 1914 – October 15, 1978) was an American international motorcycle speedway rider who finished third in the 1937 Speedway World Championship final, behind his brother Jack and second placed Wilbur Lamoreaux. Cory ...
and
Wilbur Lamoreaux
Wilbur "Lammy" Lamoreaux (born 26 February 1907 in Roseville, Illinois, United States - died 11 May 1963) was an international motorcycle speedway rider who qualified for three Speedway World Championship finals and never finished lower than f ...
.
After retirement
In 1973 Briggs was awarded an
MBE for his services to sport and in 1990 he was inducted into the
New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame
The New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame is an organisation commemorating New Zealand's greatest sporting triumphs. It was inaugurated as part of the New Zealand sesquicentenary celebrations in 1990. Some 160 members have been inducted into the Hall o ...
. From 17 March 2010 Briggs took part in a
John o' Groats to
Land's End
Land's End ( kw, Penn an Wlas or ''Pedn an Wlas'') is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, on the Penwith peninsula about west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it is ...
bike ride to raise money for the
BBC's #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
In retirement, Briggs became the mentor to many young riders who went on to race in World Finals including fellow Kiwi
. He also lent his voice to television, becoming a respected speedway commentator in England and Europe, as well as the
.