Lee Stewart Richardson (25 April 1979 – 13 May 2012) was a British international

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.

Career

Richardson made his British debut for the

Reading Racers Reading Racers are a British motorcycle speedway team. Formed in 1968, they won four British League titles during their history. The club closed in October 2008 after the lease on Smallmead Stadium was sold and the site was demolished. In 2016 a ...

in 1995. Richardson represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

at senior and under-21 level and featured in several

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

tournaments. Richardson was World Under 21 champion in 1999 and also won the Elite League Riders' Championship in 2003. In October 2002, during the

Speedway Grand Prix Qualification The Speedway Grand Prix Challenge or Speedway Grand Prix Qualification is an annual speedway qualifying tournament to determine the qualifiers for the Speedway Grand Prix, which is the World Championship of speedway. History From 1995 the Indiv ...

he won the GP Challenge, which ensured that he claimed a permanent slot for the 2003 Grand Prix. He was also a fully fledged

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

rider for four seasons from 2003 until 2006.Bamford, R.(2007). ''Speedway Yearbook 2007''. Richardson joined the

Lakeside Hammers The Lakeside Hammers were a speedway team who most recently raced in the SGB Championship in 2018. They were founded (as the Arena-Essex Hammers) by promoter Wally Mawdsley and stock car promoter Chick Woodroffe. The team were nicknamed the Ham ...

for the 2009 season.

Death

On 13 May 2012, Richardson died of internal bleeding in a

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

hospital following a collision with a safety fence during a Polish League match.

Family

Richardson's mother Julie was a presenter for ScreenSport Television. His father Colin is a former rider. His uncle Steve Weatherley, another rider, was paralysed in a crash with Vic Harding whilst racing in a meeting at the

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 ...

(Harding later died in hospital).

Speedway Grand Prix results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Lee Stewart 1979 births 2012 deaths British speedway riders Sportspeople from Hastings Coventry Bees riders Poole Pirates riders Reading Racers riders Swindon Robins riders Lakeside Hammers riders Eastbourne Eagles riders Motorcycle racers who died while racing Sport deaths in Poland Filmed deaths in motorsport