Danny Ayres (16 August 1986 – 1 February 2020) was a
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 who rode in
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 i ...
.
Career
Danny Ayres began his career in
motocross
Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom.
History
Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competiti ...
and converted to speedway relatively late, in 2014. He rode for various teams, including
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 ...
,
Glasgow Tigers,
King's Lynn Stars
King's Lynn Stars are a motorcycle speedway team who compete in the SGB Premiership. The nickname "Stars" comes from the defunct Norwich Stars team. The team was founded in 1965 and has been running continually since then, except for 1996 when Ki ...
,
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 ...
,
Redcar Bears
The Redcar Bears are a British speedway team who currently compete in the SGB Championship (middle tier of the British speedway leagues). Their major team honour to date is the SGB Championship KO Cup win in 2019 against rivals Newcastle Diamo ...
, and
Scunthorpe Scorpions
The Scunthorpe Scorpions are a speedway team in the British SGB Championship. They have raced at various times since 1972, at three different venues.
History
1972–1978
The original Scunthorpe side were known as Scunthorpe Saints from 19 ...
.
He and
Ben Morley were
National League Pairs champions in 2015, and Ayres came second in the 2015 National League Riders' Championship.
The final official averages of 2019 gave Danny Ayres an average of 5.51 on the Scunthorpe Scorpions
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
team.
He was injured in a
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
match in August 2019, breaking his left
tibia
The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...
.
He did not ride again competitively until January 2020.
At the time of his death, according to SpeedwayGB, "he
aspreparing for the forthcoming season with Premiership
Ipswich ">itchesand Scunthorpe
corpionsin the Championship."
Death
Danny Ayres died unexpectedly in February 2020 of
suicide.
In the ''
East Anglian Daily Times
The ''East Anglian Daily Times'' is a British local newspaper for Suffolk and Essex, based in Ipswich.
History
The newspaper began publication on 13 October 1874, incorporating the ''Ipswich Express'', which had been published since 13 August ...
'', written after Ayres' death, he was described as being "hugely popular with speedway folk throughout the country for his all-action style." Various people paid tribute, including
Scott Nicholls
Scott Karl Nicholls (born 16 May 1978) is a British speedway rider, who has won the British Championship seven times,[Cradley Heathens
Cradley Heathens was a motorcycle speedway team from Dudley, England. The team was founded in 1947 and competed at the top level of British speedway until its closure in 1995. It was revived as Dudley Heathens in 2010, competing in the National L ...]
, and
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 ...
.
No cause of death was announced at the time, but immediately after his death, his partner described it as him having "lost his battle" and encouraged anyone struggling with their mental health to seek help.
At his funeral, on the 14 February, the hearse made a final lap of the Mildenhall Fen Tigers' track.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayres, Danny
British speedway riders
1986 births
2020 deaths
Glasgow Tigers riders
King's Lynn Stars riders
Cradley Heathens riders
Leicester Lions riders
Redcar Bears riders
Mildenhall Fen Tigers riders
Scunthorpe Scorpions riders
2020 suicides
Suicides in England