Chris Harris (speedway Rider)
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Christopher Calvin Harris (born 28 November 1982) from
Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its ...
,
Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
, nicknamed ''Bomber'', is a
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
international
speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...
rider for the
Leicester Lions Leicester Lions are a speedway team which originally operated from 1968 until 1983.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. The club returned to speedway for the 2011 Premier League season, moving up to the Elite League ...
and Glasgow Tigers in the United Kingdom.


Career history


Early career

Harris began his racing career at the age of six and a half by competing in
grasstrack Motorcycle Grasstrack is a form of track racing which typically, in its current form, takes place on a flat track consisting of two straights and two bends usually constructed in a field. It is one of the oldest types of motorcycle sports in the ...
events. His talent quickly became apparent when he began to win all of the junior age groups in the South-West area. In 1998, aged 15, he turned to speedway racing for the St. Austell Gulls at Amateur Conference League level. The Gulls won the Championship and the Knockout Cup. On his 16th birthday, Harris signed for 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 ...
, who competed in the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
, the middle tier of British speedway's three-league structure. Despite the death of his father, who was his driver and mentor, he achieved his first notable individual success later that year, when he became Great Britain Under-16 Champion. He was also selected to ride for
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
at both Under-19 and Under-21 level. In 2000, Harris more than doubled his previous year's points total, being unbeaten by an opponent in several matches. The Exeter Falcons team finished the season as Premier League Champions and reached two cup finals and one semi-final. Harris moved clubs for the 2001 season, joining the
Trelawny Tigers Trelawny Tigers operated as a British Premier League (speedway), Premier League Motorcycle speedway, speedway team from 2001 to 2003 at the Clay Country Moto Parc. History The club was formed in 2001, as a replacement for the St Austell Gull ...
in Cornwall. He soon became their top scorer and qualified for the
2001 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship The 2001 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship was the 25th edition of the World motorcycle speedway Under-21 Championships. The final took place on 26 August, to determine the champion. The final was won by Dawid Kujawa who qualified for ...
as first reserve. He continued his form into 2002, being made club captain. Once again, he was top scorer for the club and under his captaincy Trelawny Tigers won the
Premier Trophy The Major League Tournament (formerly known as the Premier Trophy) is the main domestic first-class cricket competition in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1938 and has existed under a number of different names. Matches before the 1988–89 seas ...
.


Elite League progress and international debut

Taking advantage of new rules introduced to assist young British riders, Harris also took the step up to ride in the Elite League in 2002, with the
Peterborough Panthers The Peterborough Panthers are a British speedway team based in Peterborough, England. They are three times champions of the United Kingdom, winning the highest level league in 1999, 2006 and 2021. History 1970–1994 The Panthers inaugural se ...
. He progressed well during his debut Elite League season, moving up into the main body of the team. Individually, he progressed to the final of the
British Speedway Championship The British Speedway Championship is an annual motorcycle speedway competition open to British national speedway riders. The winner of the event becomes the British Speedway Champion. History Inaugurated in 1961 as a qualifying round of the Spe ...
and finished fourth in the World Under-21 Championship. In 2003, Harris rode again for Trelawny Tigers in the Premier League and Peterborough Panthers in the Elite League. By the end of the season, he was an Elite League heat-leader. Off track, he was voted
BBC #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. ...
...
South-West
Sports Personality of the Year Athlete of the Year is an award given by various sports organizations for the athlete whom they have determined to be deserving of such recognition. Definition of "athlete" *In many nations, an "athlete" primarily refers to someone who participat ...
. However, it was on the individual front Harris was most successful. In the World Under-21 Championship, he won both his quarter and semi final rounds, progressing to the 2003 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship in Sweden where he finished runner-up, one point behind
Jarosław Hampel Jarosław "Jarek" Hampel (; born 17 April 1982 in Łódź, Poland) is a Polish Speedway rider. He was a participant of the FIM Speedway Grand Prix in 2007 and 2010. He received his speedway license in 1998 with the Polish team Polonia Piła, alth ...
. His form during 2003 won Harris an invitation to take part as a reserve in the third round of the 2003 FIM Individual Speedway World Championship, the
British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World C ...
, held at
Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...
in Cardiff. 2004 saw Harris sign for the
Coventry Bees Coventry Bees were a motorcycle speedway team that existed from 1929 to 2018. They raced at Brandon Stadium, Brandon near Coventry, England. History A Coventry team was first formed in 1928 and competed in the inaugural season of the Southern ...
. The following season, the Bees won the Elite League Championship, which meant Harris had won titles at all three levels of British speedway aged just twenty-two. He also represented
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
in the
Speedway World Cup The Speedway World Cup is an annual motorcycle speedway, speedway event held each year in different countries. The first edition of the competition in the current format was held in 2001 and replaced the old Speedway World Team Cup, World Team Cu ...
. Harris continued to ride for Coventry until 2011.


International success

In 2007, Harris became British Champion. Harris was selected to ride as a permanent wild card in the
2007 Speedway Grand Prix The 2007 Speedway Grand Prix was the 62nd edition of the official World Championship and the 13th season in the Speedway Grand Prix era used to determine the Speedway World Champion. It was the first under the promotion of IMG, who had purchased s ...
series, riding at number 15. In only his fifth full Grand Prix meeting he won the
British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World C ...
at Cardiff. He was also a victim of an armed robbery, just two weeks before his maiden Grand Prix win when he was held up at gunpoint whilst out with his manager. Winning the Grand Prix was considered to be the biggest event to happen in British Speedway for several years. Off track, he was again voted
BBC #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. ...
...
South-West
Sports Personality of the Year Athlete of the Year is an award given by various sports organizations for the athlete whom they have determined to be deserving of such recognition. Definition of "athlete" *In many nations, an "athlete" primarily refers to someone who participat ...
. and was also voted
BBC #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. ...
...
Midlands
Sports Personality of the Year Athlete of the Year is an award given by various sports organizations for the athlete whom they have determined to be deserving of such recognition. Definition of "athlete" *In many nations, an "athlete" primarily refers to someone who participat ...
, beating
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
footballer
Gareth Barry Gareth Barry (born 23 February 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He made 653 Premier League appearances for Aston Villa, Manchester City, Everton and West Bromwich Albion, the highest number of ap ...
into second place. Harris won the British Championship twice more in 2009 and 2010 and for the first time since 2004, Harris would not ride for Coventry after he moved on loan to
Belle Vue Aces The Belle Vue Aces are a British motorcycle speedway, speedway club, based in Manchester. The club hold the record of having won the top tier List of United Kingdom speedway league champions, League championship 13 times. They currently compete ...
for the
2011 Elite League speedway season The 2011 Elite League speedway season (also known as the Sky Sports Elite League for sponsorship reasons) was the 77th season of the top division of UK speedway and took place between 26 March and 20 October 2011. The Coventry Bees were the defend ...
. He continued to perform well in the 2011 World Championship including a 2nd place finish in the Croatian Grand Prix. After another season with Coventry in 2012, he would join
Birmingham Brummies Birmingham Brummies are a British speedway team founded in 1928. They were inaugural members of the Southern League in 1929. The team have twice finished runner-up in the highest tier of British speedway, during the 1952 Speedway National Lea ...
for the 2013 season. In 2014, he returned to Coventry until the end of the 2016 season. Despite Harris finishing his Grand Prix appearances he continued to impress in Britain. He finished his Grand Prix career with a record of 103 meetings, nine finals, one win and 608 points. He also decided to compete in both divisions of the British league for the first time in 2017, riding for
Rye House Rockets The Rye House Rockets were a speedway team based at Rye House Stadium, Hoddesdon, England. They competed in various British speedway leagues from 1954 to 2018. History Rye House began life in 1934 hosting open meetings. Whilst at Hackney in 1 ...
and Peterborough. He continued to ride in both divisions and made debuts for Glasgow Tigers,
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 ...
and
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 ...
in 2018 and
Somerset Rebels The Somerset Rebels were a British speedway team based in Highbridge, Somerset. Founded in 2000, the club competed in the British SGB Championship until 2019. Their home track was located at the Oak Tree Arena. History The club's stadium, The ...
and
Berwick Bandits The Berwick Bandits are a British speedway club, based in Berwick-upon-Tweed. They currently compete in the SGB Championship, racing at Shielfield Park, with home matches usually taking place on Saturday evenings. They also run a second team in ...
in 2019. In 2022, he rode for the Peterborough in the
SGB Premiership 2022 The 2022 SGB Premiership was the 87th season of the top tier of British Speedway and the 5th known as the SGB Premiership. Sheffield Tigers topped the regular season table and met Belle Vue Aces in the play off final but Belle Vue ran out the winn ...
and captained Berwick in the
SGB Championship 2022 The 2022 SGB Championship season is the 75th season of the second tier of British Speedway and the 5th known as the SGB Championship. Summary Eleven clubs competed in the Championship in 2022, with Oxford returning to the sport after a 15 year ab ...
. He was named rider of the year for Berwick. He also had a successful longtrack season winning a bronze medal at the 2022 Individual Long Track World Championship. In 2023, he signed for
Leicester Lions Leicester Lions are a speedway team which originally operated from 1968 until 1983.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. The club returned to speedway for the 2011 Premier League season, moving up to the Elite League ...
for the
SGB Premiership 2023 The 2023 Sports Insure SGB Premiership is the 88th season of the top tier of British speedway and the 6th known as the SGB Premiership. There was an increase of one team after the Leicester Lions opted to move up from the SGB Championship. 20 ...
and made a return to Glasgow for the
SGB Championship 2023 The 2023 SGB Cab Direct Championship season will be the 76th season of the second tier of British Speedway and the 6th known as the SGB Championship. The British Speedway Network (BSN) would stream 35 matches live for the second year running. S ...
.


Speedway Grand Prix results


SGP Podium

# Wrocław (12 May 2007) - 3rd place # Cardiff (30 June 2007) - 1st place # Copenhagen (5 June 2010) - 3rd place # Gorican (28 August 2010) - 2nd place # Terenzano (25 September 2010) - 2nd place # Bydgoszcz (9 October 2010) - 2nd place # Goričan (24 September 2011) - 2nd # Warsaw (18 April 2015) - 2nd place


SGP Finals

# Copenhagen (9 June 2012)


Other major results

Individual Speedway Long Track World Championship This is the complete list of Individual Long Track World Championship medalists from 1971. Also included are the medalists from 1957 to 1970 when the championship was known as the European Individual Long Track Championship. Medalists European L ...
* 2017 - 5 apps (8th) 50pts * 2018 - 5 apps (8th) 52pts * 2019 - 5 apps (7th) 50pts * 2021 - 2 apps (4th) 23pts * 2022 - 6 apps (3rd) 83pts
Team Long Track World Championship The FIM Team Long Track World Championship, known officially as the ''Longtrack of Nations'', is an annual track racing event since 2007 organized by the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM). The championship has been won by Germany eight ...
* 2018 - Morizes 16/46pts (with
James Shanes James Shanes (born 17 March 1997) is a British speedway rider and also competes in Grasstrack and Longtrack speedway. He is a four times British Masters Grasstrack Champion, 2 times European Grasstrack Champion and world long track competitor. ...
,
Zach Wajtknecht Zach Wajtknecht (born 8 February 1998) is a British speedway rider. Career At an early age Wajtknecht became a double World Champion, twice triumphing in the FIM 125cc Grasstrack Youth Gold Trophy. He followed up these successes by being crown ...
&
Adam Ellis Adam Ellis (born 21 March 1996) is a British grasstrack and speedway rider and former British champion. Biography Born in Marmande, France, Ellis began grasstrack racing in 2009, going on to finish second in the 250cc French Grasstrack Champ ...
) Second * 2019 - Vechta 14/41pts (with
Zach Wajtknecht Zach Wajtknecht (born 8 February 1998) is a British speedway rider. Career At an early age Wajtknecht became a double World Champion, twice triumphing in the FIM 125cc Grasstrack Youth Gold Trophy. He followed up these successes by being crown ...
,
Edward Kennett Edward David Kennett (born 28 August 1986 in Hastings, England) is a motorcycle speedway rider. He was the British Under-21 Champion in 2005 and has appeared in two Speedway Grand Prix as a wild card. Kennett's father Dave, was a motorcycle s ...
&
Adam Ellis Adam Ellis (born 21 March 1996) is a British grasstrack and speedway rider and former British champion. Biography Born in Marmande, France, Ellis began grasstrack racing in 2009, going on to finish second in the 250cc French Grasstrack Champ ...
) Fourth European Grasstrack Championship * 2016
Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...
(11th) 8pts


See also

*
List of Speedway Grand Prix riders This is a complete list of riders who have entered a FIM Speedway Grand Prix since 1995. ''After 2015 Scandinavian SGP in Stockholm (26 September 2015)'' Index A * Leigh Adams * Zoltán Adorján * Sebastian Aldén * Stefano Alfonso * B ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Chris 1982 births Living people British speedway riders English motorcycle racers Sportspeople from Truro British Speedway Championship winners Belle Vue Aces riders Berwick Bandits riders Coventry Bees riders Exeter Falcons riders Glasgow Tigers riders Ipswich Witches riders Leicester Lions riders Peterborough Panthers riders Poole Pirates riders Rye House Rockets riders St Austell Gulls riders Somerset Rebels riders Trelawny Tigers riders Individual Speedway Long Track World Championship riders