Graham W Plant (born 15 December 1949) is a former

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. He won the Second Division Riders Championship in 1968 and went to a career 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 ...

with

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 ...

Newport Wasps Newport Wasps were a British motorcycle speedway team based in Newport, South Wales from 1964 to 2012. They were the 1999 Conference League champions. The Wasp logo incorporates the traditional black and amber colours of the City of Newport. ...

, and

Halifax Dukes The Halifax Dukes were a Speedway team which operated from 1949–1951 and again from 1965 until their closure in 1985 at The Shay Stadium in Halifax. The team were nicknamed the "Dukes" after the local Duke of Wellington's Regiment, whose tra ...

Biography

Born in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

, Graham Plant is the son of former speedway rider

Wilf Plant Wilfred Graham Plant (28 August 1914 – May 2001) was a British motorcycle speedway rider. Career Born in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, Plant gained his early racing experience in grasstrack.Morgan, Tom (1949) ''Who's Who in Speedway 1949 ...

, and began racing in his teens, initially in

go-kart A go-kart, also written as go-cart (often referred to as simply a kart), is a type of sports car, close wheeled car, open-wheel car or quadracycle. Go-karts come in all shapes and forms, from non-motorised models to high-performance Kart rac ...

and

sidecar racing Motorcycle racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) is the motorcycle sport of racing motorcycles. Major varieties include motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Oth ...

.Oakes, Peter & Mauger, Ivan (1976) ''Who's Who of World Speedway'', Studio Publications, , p. 90-91 After practicing at

King's Lynn Stadium King's Lynn Stadium, also known as the Adrian Flux Arena and previously as the Norfolk Arena, is a short oval stadium situated to the south of King's Lynn on Saddlebow Road in Norfolk County, England. It currently hosts BriSCA Formula 1 Stock C ...

, he had his first speedway races in second half events at

Long Eaton Speedway Long Eaton motorcycle speedway teams operated from 1950 until 1997 in Long Eaton, England. Teams have raced at the Long Eaton Stadium as the Long Eaton Archers, Long Eaton Rangers, Nottingham Outlaws and the Long Eaton Invaders. The Invaders re ...

in 1967. In 1968, he joined second division Middlesbrough Teessiders on loan from Leicester Lions, and impressive performances (he averaged 8.54 over the season) also led to appearances in the first division for the Lions. Aged just 19, he won the

British League Division Two Riders Championship The British League Division Two Riders Championship was a speedway contest between the top riders (or two riders) with the highest average points total from each club competing in the second tier of British speedway. The championship was inaugura ...

, held at

Hackney Wick Stadium Hackney Wick Stadium was a greyhound racing and speedway stadium located at Waterden Road in the London Borough of Hackney. Origins The site chosen for the stadium was on land known as Hackney Marshes west of the River Lea and on the west sid ...

on 27 September 1968. In 1969, he rode full-time for the Lions, averaging 6.21 over the season, including one full maximum score. Also in 1969, he won the British Under 21 Championship.Jones, Alan (2010) ''Speedway in Leicester: The Lions Roar'', Automedia, p. 175 By 1971 he was one of the Lions' top riders, averaging 8.78 over the season, and he represented England in international competition and finished third in the Rhodesian Open Championship. In 1972 he moved to

, where he stayed for two seasons before moving on to

, where he stayed until 1979, although he made no appearances in 1978 and only rode in only a handful of matches in 1979, before retiring. He returned in 1980 with

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 s ...

team the

Milton Keynes Knights The Milton Keynes Knights are a Speedway team which originally operated from 1978 until their closure in 1992. The team were revived in 2012 but have had to race at various venues outside of Milton Keynes. History 1978–1988 The inaugural leag ...

where he raced in 1980 and 1981, when his season was cut short after a loss of form and a falling-out with the team management.Oakes, Peter (1982) ''1982 Speedway Yearbook'', Studio Publications, , p. 246, 249 He returned briefly for the Knights in 1983, before retiring for the final time.Oakes, Peter (1981) ''1981 Speedway Yearbook'', Studio Publications, , p. 252

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plant, Graham 1949 births Living people Sportspeople from Leicester British speedway riders Leicester Lions riders Middlesbrough Bears riders Newport Wasps riders Halifax Dukes riders