Franklin John Shuter (17 June 1943 – 12 July 1997) was 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 New Zealand, who rode with, and was League Champion with each of the

Swindon Robins The Swindon Speedway team, also known as the Swindon Robins, are an English motorcycle speedway team established in 1949 that have competed primarily in the top division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom. They are five times l ...

, 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 ...

and 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 the

British League The British League was the main motorcycle speedway league in Britain from its formation in 1965 until 1995 when British speedway was restructured. It initially had a single division, with a second division starting in 1968 (which was renamed the ...

Early life

Shuter was born in

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

but spent most of his early life in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

after his parents moved there in 1952. His father

Frank Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curre ...

, was one of the South Island's leading motor racing drivers. In the early 1960s Shuter drove his father's cars in races at Tahuna Beach, Ruapuna and Wigram. he also competed in motocross events.

Speedway career

Shuter began riding at the Templeton Speedway in Christchurch in 1963. He moved to England in 1965 and joined the

. In 1969 he was transferred to the

. In late 1970 he returned to New Zealand and had a break from speedway for a year. Shuter won the New Zealand Championship in 1971. He returned to England in 1972 and rode for Poole again. The following year he was transferred to the

. When Exeter won the League Championship in 1974 he became the first rider to win three league medals with different clubs. He retired from riding in the British League at the end of 1974 and moved to Israel. While living there he rode for a Rest of the World team v. U.S.A. in March 1976. He then moved to California to ride for the LA Sprockets in the American League. He was injured in a track accident and retired from speedway in May 1976.

Later life

In the late 1970s he established an engineering machining business called All Right Machining in Los Angeles which worked on engines and transmissions for aircraft companies. He later moved the business to

Hemet Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California. It covers a total area of , about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto. The population was 89,833 at the 2020 census. The foundin ...

, and in 1996 he sold it to the

Stillen STILLEN (Steve Millen Sportparts, Inc.) is the automotive aftermarket parts company created by Steve Millen, a former racecar driver for Nissan who was known for racing the 300ZX. In 1986, STILLEN began selling mini-truck ground effects and then ...

Company. He died in a traffic accident on 12 July 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shuter, Franklin John 1943 births 1997 deaths New Zealand speedway riders Sportspeople from Christchurch Swindon Robins riders Poole Pirates riders Exeter Falcons riders New Zealand expatriate speedway riders in England