Daniel Gilkes (born 21 May 2002) is a

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.

Career

In 2019, he signed for the

Kent Kings The Kent Royals (formerly Kings) are a British speedway team formed in 2013. Through 2021 they competed in the SGB Championship but also run a junior team in the National League. They were based at Central Park Stadium in Sittingbourne, with a t ...

for the

2019 National Development League speedway season The National League speedway 2019 now known as the National Development League for the 2019 season was the third tier/division of British speedway. There were several team changes for the 2019 league season with reigning league champions and KO cu ...

, helping them to National Trophy success. He was crowned the supporters rider of the year. Unable to ride during 2020 because of the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

cancelled season, he continued to ride for Kent in 2021 but appeared in both the NDL and the higher league of the SGB Championship 2021. In 2022, he signed for

Plymouth Gladiators The Plymouth Gladiators are a speedway team in the British SGB Championship. Under several names Plymouth have competed during various seasons from 1932. The club was reformed after a gap of thirty-six years in 2006 by former St Austell Gulls r ...

and his form was so impressive that he was added to the Peterborough Panthers squad 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 ...

(the highest league in Britain). He started the 2022 campaign in very good form but his season ended early when he crashed and suffered serious injuries that included five broken ribs, a broken and displaced humorous bone and a collapsed lung. In 2023, he re-signed for Plymouth 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 ...

and also signed for Sheffield Tigers 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 ...

as their rising star.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilkes, Dan 2002 births Living people British speedway riders Kent Kings riders Peterborough Panthers riders Plymouth Gladiators speedway riders Sheffield Tigers riders