Cyril Manners Roger (27 December 1921 - 26 May 2015) was 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 reached the final of

Speedway World Championship The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest-ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world, run under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). The first official championsh ...

five times.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing.

Career

Roger started his career with the

Exeter Falcons The Exeter Falcons were a speedway team based in the city of Exeter. The Falcons operated from 1947 to 2005 at the County Ground Stadium in Exeter. History In 1947, the Falcons competed in a league for the first time when they finished fourth ...

in 1947 on loan from the

New Cross Rangers The New Cross Rangers were a Speedway team which operated from 1934 until their closure in 1953. They also rode as the New Cross Lambs from 1934 to 1935 and then the New Cross Tamers in 1936. The team were League Champions in 1938 and 1948. His ...

. Until July 1948 he was part of the Falcons team that won the National League Division Three Championship, but was recalled by New Cross. He featured in ten outings for New Cross, and received a medal when they won the National League Division One title in the same season.Jacobs, N. (2008) ''Out of the Frying Pan'', The History Press LTD In 1949 he joined the Rangers full-time and qualified for the first of his five World Final appearances. In 1950 Roger won the prestigious

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 ...

Belton, Brian (2003). ''Hammerin' Round''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing and made his debut for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Roger stayed with New Cross until 1953, making two further World Final appearances in the meantime, before joining the

Norwich Stars Norwich Stars were a motorcycle speedway team based in Norwich, England which operated from 1930 until their closure in 1964.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. History Speedway racing was staged in Norwich both before ...

when the Rangers closed. A season with the

Poole Pirates Poole Pirates (also known as Poole Speedway) are a motorcycle speedway team based in Poole, England, competing in the SGB Championship. The club have been the champions of the United Kingdom on ten occasions. Poole Speedway is promoted by l ...

in 1956 was followed with a season with the

Ipswich Witches The Ipswich Witches are a British speedway club based at Foxhall Stadium near Ipswich, Suffolk. They compete in the British SGB Premiership. Meetings are staged on most Thursdays from March until October, normally commencing at 7.30pm (first ra ...

where he broke his leg. Roger returned to racing in 1959 with the

where he stayed for two seasons before finishing his career after three seasons with the

Southampton Saints Southampton Saints were a speedway team which operated from 1928 until its closure in 1963. Its track was located at Banister Court Stadium in Southampton, Hampshire. History Southampton was one of the founder members of the 1929 Speedway Sout ...

in 1963.

World final appearances

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

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 ...

- 10th - 7pts *

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

- Res - 5pts *

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

- 15th - 2pts *

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

- 16th - 0pts *

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

- 16th - 0pts

Family

His brothers

Bob Roger Robert William Roger (14 June 1928 – 17 December 2002) was an international motorcycle speedway rider from England. Speedway career Roger reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in the 1957 Individual Speedway World Championshi ...

and Bert Roger were both speedway riders.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roger, Cyril 1921 births 2015 deaths British speedway riders English motorcycle racers New Cross Rangers riders Exeter Falcons riders Norwich Stars riders Ipswich Witches riders Poole Pirates riders Southampton Saints riders People from Ashford, Kent