David James Morton (born 24 September 1953 in Eccles,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

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 ...

) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider who started his career with the

Crewe Kings The Crewe Kings was a British Speedway team which operated in Crewe, Cheshire from 1969 until its closure in 1975. History The team first competed in 1969 promoted by Maury Littlechild for Allied Presentations who also promoted the Rayleigh Ro ...

. He represented

at test level. His brother

Chris Morton Christopher John Morton, MBE (born 22 July 1956) is a former motorcycle speedway rider. He rode bikes from a young age at the farm of Peter Collins' parents. Brief career summary Born in Davyhulme, Lancashire, Morton made his debut for Elles ...

was also a speedway rider. He was signed by

Hackney Hawks Hackney Hawks speedway opened in 1963 at Hackney Wick Stadium, Waterden Road, London and operated until 1983. The team replaced the Hackney Wick Wolves who had raced at the stadium from 1935 to 1939. The Hawks were then themselves replaced by th ...

in 1973 from

but missed almost the entire 1977 season with a broken leg. He requested a transfer in 1978 and was swapped for

Finn Thomsen Finn Thomsen (born 16 February 1955 Arhus, Denmark) is a former motorcycle speedway rider Career Thomsen first rode in the UK with the Wolverhampton Wolves. Signed by Len Silver for the Hackney Hawks in a swap deal with Dave Mo ...

from

Wolverhampton Wolves Wolverhampton Wolves are a British speedway team based in Wolverhampton, England. They are sponsored by Parry's International Travel, and signed a deal with owner Dave Parry (previous speedway rider for the Wolverhampton Wolves) for the 20 ...

. He won the New Zealand Championship in 1975. He was also British Finalist (1975, 1976, 1978, 1980) and New Zealand Champion (1975). He retired in 1988. Morton now works for

Swissport Swissport International Ltd. is a Swiss aviation services company providing airport ground, lounge hospitality and cargo handling services. Its headquarters are located in Opfikon, Canton of Zürich, Switzerland. It handles around 282 million ...

(formerly Servisair) at Manchester Airport as a technician on the ground support equipment for the aircraft when they are at the airport terminal. He lives in Manchester with his partner, Bernadette. He likes music, especially blues and rock and bluegrass and plays a bit of banjo. He is the author of a memoir about his time in Speedway "Tapes, Breaks and Heartaches".Morton, D (2017) “Tapes, Breaks and Heartaches””

External links

Hackney Hawks Website

References

1953 births Living people British speedway riders English motorcycle racers Hackney Hawks riders Wolverhampton Wolves riders Sheffield Tigers riders Ellesmere Port Gunners riders Crewe Kings riders Newcastle Diamonds riders Reading Racers riders People from Eccles, Greater Manchester {{England-speedway-bio-stub