The Australian Solo Championship 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 ...

championship held each year to determine the Australian national champion. It is organised by

Motorcycling Australia Motorcycling Australia is the governing body for motorcycle racing in Australia, covering road racing, motocross, trials, supercross, dirt track, supermoto and speedway. Motorcycling Australia is affiliated with the international governing bo ...

(MA) and is the oldest continuously running national speedway championship in the world having been run since 1926 with the exception of 1942-1945 when racing was suspended during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and 1955-1961 when the championship was not held. The first Australian Solo Championship in 1926 was held at the Newcastle Showground in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. It was won by American rider Cecil Brown from Mick Brennan and Roy Hindle. Legendary

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

rider Ole Olsen (1976) and Australia's own

Jason Crump Jason Philip Crump (born 6 August 1975) is an Australian international motorcycle speedway rider. He is a three-time Speedway World Champion, a World Cup winner and a former World Under-21 Champion. In a 21-year career in Speedway, Jason Cr ...

(2007) are the only riders who have won the championship while being the reigning Speedway World Champion. Olsen's controversial win at the

Liverpool Speedway Liverpool Speedway (also known during its life as Liverpool International Speedway and Liverpool City Raceway) was located in Green Valley, Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Liverpool was officially opened by Frank Oliveri and the O ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in 1976 was the last win by a non-Australian rider. His win was controversial as many of the riders at the meeting protested his eligibility because of his nationality. However, with Olsen available to ride the promoters of the speedway insisted on his inclusion knowing that he would draw a larger crowd. The winner of the Australian Solo Championship receives the Billy Sanders Memorial Trophy named after the speedway rider

Billy Sanders William Robert Sanders (9 September 1955 – 23 April 1985Oakes, P (1982). ''Daily Mirror 1982 Speedway Yearbook''. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. ) was an Australian international Speedway rider who won six Australian Championships and w ...

(1955–1985).

Winners since 1926

''No third place is listed with two or more riders tied for second place. Additionally, with only one rider listed in second, third place was unknown''
''♦ 1990 ride-ff after top 2 tied on 14pts. 1998 ride-off after top 3 placings tied on 13pts''
''# Riders tied on points required ride-off for second and third place''
''All titles from 1962-1967 were determined by a single race. Titles from 1968-2003 decided on the traditional single meeting. From 1999-2003 a final for the top 4 point scorers was instituted''
''Since 2004 all titles have been over a 3, 4 or 5 round series''

Notes

* Eleven non-

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

riders have won the championship. Cecil Brown (

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

) in 1926, Arthur Atkinson (

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 ...

) in 1930 (2 miles), Ray Tauser (USA) in 1931 (6 laps), Larry Boulton (England) in 1933,

Jack Milne John Walter Milne (4 June 1907 in Buffalo, New York, United States – 6 December 1995 in Pasadena, California, United States) was an international Speedway rider. He became the first American to win a motorcycling world championship when he won ...

(USA) in 1937, Jack Parker (England) in 1938, 1950, 1951 2

Cordy Milne Corydon Clark Milne (April 14, 1914 – October 15, 1978) was an American international motorcycle speedway rider who finished third in the 1937 Speedway World Championship final, behind his brother Jack and second placed Wilbur Lamoreaux. Coryd ...

(USA) in 1938, Bill Kitchen (England) in 1950,

Mike Broadbank Michael Broadbank (also known as Broadbanks) (born 23 September 1934 in Hoddesdon, England) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider who made 560 appearances for the Swindon Robins, scoring over 4,200 points. Rye House Broadbank was ...

(England) in 1963,

Ken McKinlay John Robert Vickers (Ken) McKinlay (7 June 1928 – 9 February 2003) was an international speedway rider, captaining Scotland, England, Great Britain and Europe teams. He also finished on the rostrum of the British Speedway Championship finals t ...

(

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

) in 1964, and Ole Olsen (

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

) in 1976. * In the early years of the championship, multiple Australian titles were often held in the same year with some riders winning more than one title per year. Championships were run over anywhere from 2 to 6 laps and/or over 2 miles, often depending on the length of the track used. * Both Ole Olsen (1976) and

(2007) were the reigning Speedway World Champions when they won their Australian titles. Jack Milne of the USA won the 1937 Australian Championship and later that year won the 1937 World Championship.

Bluey Wilkinson Arthur George "Bluey" Wilkinson (27 August 1911 – 27 July 1940) was an international speedway rider. Wilkinson was Speedway World Champion in 1938 after narrowly missing out on winning the inaugural Championship in 1936. Early life Wi ...

won the 3 & 4 Lap Australian Championships in 1938 before also going on to win the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

later that year,

Chris Holder Christopher Robert Holder (born 24 September 1987 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian speedway rider currently riding for Lejonen in the Swedish Elitserien and for Apator Toruń in the Polish Speedway Ekstraliga. He became the Austral ...

also won both the 2012 Australian and

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. * Speedway World Champions to have won the Australian championship include Bluey Wilkinson (1935, 1938 & 4 Laps, Jack Milne (1937), Ole Olsen (1976), Jason Crump (1995, 2007) and

(2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2014). *

Leigh Adams Leigh Scott Adams (born 28 April 1971 in Mildura, Victoria)Oakes, P.(2004). ''British Speedway Who's Who''. is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider. He is a multiple Speedway Grand Prix winner and World Team Champion. He also w ...

was the reigning Under-21 World Champion when he won his second straight Australian title in 1993. Jason Crump would win his first Australian title in 1995 and later that year won the 1995 U/21 World Championship. * Adams also became the first reigning Australian Under-21 Champion to win the senior title when he won his first championship in 1992. Chris Holder became just the second rider to hold both titles at the same time in 2008 *

Phil Phil may refer to: * Phil (given name), a shortened version of masculine and feminine names * Phill, a given name also spelled "Phil" * Phil, Kentucky, United States * ''Phil'' (film), a 2019 film * -phil-, a lexical fragment, used as a root te ...

and Jason Crump are the only father/son combination to win the Australian Solo Championship. *

holds the record for most title wins in a row, winning four in a row from 1980-1983. Sanders also won in 1978 and 1985 giving him 6 titles in 8 years, but lost his title in both 1979 and 1984 to Phil Crump.

Vic Duggan Victor Duggan (16 October 1910, West Maitland, New South Wales – 24 March 2007, Queensland)Addison J. (1948). ''The People Speedway Guide''. Odhams Press Limited was a motorcycle speedway racer who won the London Riders' Championship in 1947 ...

(1941, 1947, 1948 3 and

(2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014) have both won 5 Australian Championships. * Leigh Adams holds the record for most title wins overall with 10.

Aub Lawson Aubrey "Aub" Lawson (born 5 April 1914 in Kelly's Gully, Warialda, New South Wales - died 20 January 1977) was an Australian international speedway rider who featured in ten World Championship finals including the 1939 final which was never run ...

holds the record for most podiums with 19 between 1947 and 1954. Lawson's total includes his record of 4 wins in the Champion of Champions (1950, 1952, 1953 and 1954) and his second place in the 1951 Champion of Champions. *

Mildura Mildura is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 in 2021. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point and Merbein are included, the area had ...

rider

Jason Lyons Jason Rodney Lyons (born 15 June 1970 in Mildura, Victoria) is an Australian international motorcycle speedway rider. Jason is the son of former rider Rod Lyons. The younger Lyons was the winner of the Australian Pairs Championship in 1992 as ...

holds the dubious record of having finished second the most number of times (5 - 1993, 1994, 1998, 1999 & 2005) without ever having won the Australian Championship. * The winner receives the Billy Sanders Memorial Trophy in honour of the Sydney rider who tragically took his own life on 23 April 1985 just three months after winning his then record 6th championship.

Medals classification

References

{{International speedway

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Individual Speedway Individual Speedway

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 ...

Motorcycle racing series

Winners since 1926

See also

Notes

Medals classification

References