Josh Bates (born 1 February 1996) is a British

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.

Early career

Born in Barnsley, Bates had never been on any type of motorbike until the beginning of 2010, when he got his first 125cc speedway bike. After a few months of practicing on this he was ready for a 250cc, which he got in June 2010. After a few more months of practice he entered the 2011 250cc British Championship, where he finished 4th overall. As well as competing in the British championship he rode in the amateur summer championship at Scunthorpe which he won and he also competed in the 250cc world championship in Sweden.

Career

In January 2012, he started riding a 500cc for the first time, soon after he was offered a team place by the

Mildenhall Fen Tigers The Mildenhall Fen Tigers are a British speedway team, founded in 1975 and currently riding in the National Development League. History 1971–1989 The original track was built in 1971 on farm land owned by Terry Waters, with chef Bernie Kla ...

. He suffered a broken arm in a crash in August 2012, but made a successful return from injury and helped the Fen Tigers complete the National League "Grand Slam" that year. In 2013 he was signed by

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 ...

to ride in the Premier League. In 2014, he won the British Under-21 Championship. He rode for both the

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 ...

and the

Sheffield Tigers The Sheffield 'Tru Plant' Tigers are a motorcycle speedway team based in Sheffield, England. They currently race in the British SGB Premiership, and their home meetings take place at Owlerton Stadium. The Tigers traditionally hold their race ...

in 2015 and Sheffield and

Coventry Storm Coventry Bees were a motorcycle speedway team that existed from 1929 to 2018. They raced at Brandon Stadium, Brandon near Coventry, England. History A Coventry team was first formed in 1928 and competed in the inaugural season of the Southern ...

in 2016. He also won the British Under-21 Championship for a second time in 2016 and reached the final of the World U21 Championship. For the 2017 season he remained at Sheffield for the third season running and joined

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 ...

. His career suffered after a crash at Peterborough in 2019. He returned for the 2021 season as a reserve rider at Sheffield and a team rider for Leicester.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Josh 1996 births English motorcycle racers British speedway riders Living people Sportspeople from Barnsley Coventry Bees riders Leicester Lions riders Mildenhall Fen Tigers riders Sheffield Tigers riders Scunthorpe Scorpions riders Wolverhampton Wolves riders