Lionel Maurice Van Praag, GM (17 December 1908 – 15 May 1987) was an Australian

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 ...

champion, who won the inaugural

Speedway World Championship The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest-ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world, run under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). The first official champions ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 10 September 1936. Van Praag's victory saw him established as Australia's first ever motorsport World Champion.

1931 UK Southern League Champion

In his first full season in British speedway, Lionel was a member of the

Wembley Lions The Wembley Lions were an English ice hockey team. History The team were founded in 1934 but showed a continuity with the London Lions team which had played at various venues since 1924. The Wembley team were based at the newly built Empire ...

team that won the last ever Southern League and the National Trophy in 1931.

1932 UK National League Champion

Lionel won the inaugural

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 ...

title in 1932 with the

1936 World Speedway Final

Circumstances

Lionel won the run-off for the

against

Eric Langton Eric Kemp Langton (27 September 1907 – 1999) was an English motorcycle speedway who won the Star Riders' Championship in 1932, the forerunner to the Speedway World Championship. League career Born in Leeds, England in 1907, Langton began hi ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

in somewhat controversial circumstances. The Championship was decided by bonus points accumulated in previous rounds. Despite being unbeaten in the final,

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 Individual Speed ...

was not crowned Champion. Bonus points accumulated by Van Praag and Langton took them to the top of the standings and into a run-off (match race).

The Match Race

As they lined up at the tapes, Langton broke them which would ordinarily lead to disqualification. However, Van Praag stated he did not want to win the title by default and insisted that a race should take place. At the restart Langton made it to the first bend in front and led until the final bend on the last lap when Van Praag darted through the smallest of gaps to win by less than wheel length.Chaplin, John (1990) ''Speedway Special'', , p. 109–114

Controversy

Afterwards, controversial allegations were abound that the two riders had 'fixed' the match race, deciding between them that the first person to the first bend would win the race and the Championship and split the prize money; Langton led into the first bend but was overtaken by Van Praag. Van Praag reportedly paid Langton £50 "conscience money" after the race for going back on the agreement.

Australia

Van Praag was also a successful rider in his home country, though he never won the

Australian Championship The National Second Division (NSD) – also referred to under the working title The Championship – is a proposed Australian national second-tier men's, soccer league, to be run by Football Australia and the Association of Australian Footbal ...

, finishing second in 1941 (3 laps), 1946 (3 laps), and 1947 (2 & 3 laps), as well as finishing third in 1940 (3 laps). He won the NSW State Championship in 1941 at the

Sydney Sports Ground The Sydney Sports Ground No. 1 was a Stadium and Dirt track racing venue in Sydney, New South Wales. The ground was located where the car park of the Sydney Football Stadium (SFS) currently sits. The ground had two main grandstands and was surr ...

and the Victorian Championship in 1947. Van Praag also represented

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

in test matches at home against

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 ...

on numerous occasions at tracks around the country including the Sydney Showground, Sydney Sports Ground, Wayville Showground (

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Claremont Speedway The Claremont Speedway was a racing circuit in the grounds of the Claremont Showground in the suburb of Claremont in Western Australia's capital city of Perth. The speedway held its first meeting on 14 May 1927, and its final meeting on 31 Ma ...

(

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

) and the Exhibition Speedway in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

World Final appearances

–

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

– Winner – 14pts plus 12 bonus pts (won run-off) *

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into ...

–

– 7th – 6pts + 11 bonus pts *

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the authoritarian regime. ** State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France ...

–

– 4th – 11pts + 7 bonus pts

World War II

Van Praag was awarded the

George Medal The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically by civilians, or in cir ...

for bravery 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, when a

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

Douglas DC-2 The Douglas DC-2 is a 14-passenger, twin-engined airliner that was produced by the American company Douglas Aircraft Company starting in 1934. It competed with the Boeing 247. In 1935, Douglas produced a larger version called the DC-3, which ...

, in which he was second pilot was shot down, by two

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

ese aircraft over the

Sumba Strait Sumba Strait (Indonesian: Selat Sumba) is a strait in Indonesia. It separates the island of Sumba from the major islands of Flores and Sumbawa, as well as minor islands including Komodo and Rinca. It connects the Indian Ocean The Indian Oc ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

. Van Praag, a sergeant at the time, and the aircraft captain, Flying Officer Noel Webster helped two colleagues—one semi-conscious and the other a non-swimmer—to shore after spending thirty hours in the water during which they had to fight off several shark attacks. After the war, Van Praag participated in one more speedway championship, but retired in 1950 to concentrate on his career as a pilot. Van Praag also appeared in the 1933 British film '' Money for Speed'' which starred John Loder, Ida Lupino,

Cyril McLaglen Cyril McLaglen (1899–1987) was a British actor who appeared in a variety of films between 1920 and 1951. He was born in London in 1899 and made his film debut in the 1920 film ''The Call of the Road''. He was the younger brother of the acto ...

and

Moore Marriott George Thomas Moore Marriott (14 September 1885 – 11 December 1949) was an English character actor best remembered for the series of films he made with Will Hay. His first appearance with Hay was in the film '' Dandy Dick'' (1935), but he wa ...

Ginger Lees Harry Riley "Ginger" Lees (1905-1982)Jacobs, N & Lipscombe, P (2005). ''Wembley Speedway : The Pre-War Years''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing was a former international motorcycle speedway rider who rode in the first ever Speedway World Championshi ...

Frank Varey Frank Varey (31 March 1908 in Eldwick, England – February 1988 in Sheffield, England) was a former international speedway rider who featured in the Speedway World Championship finals in 1937 and 1938.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A ...

and speedway promoter

Johnnie Hoskins Johnnie S. Hoskins MBE (1892 Waitara, New Zealand – 1987 Kent, England) was the most significant promoter of speedway and stock car racing in the United Kingdom, he is considered by some to have invented motorcycle speedway. Early life Born at ...

also featured.

Personal

Van Praag was Jewish. In 1990, Van Praag was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...

. In 2008, he was inducted into the

Australian Speedway Hall of Fame The Australian Speedway Hall of Fame was inaugurated in 2007 to recognise the contributions made to Australian speedway. In 2006 Speedway Australia formed the National Speedway Induction Committee (NSIC) consisting of competitors, promoters, medi ...

Legacy

In 2000, th
Australian Capital Territory Place Names Committee
named a street, Van Praag Circuit (ten weeks later renamed Van Praag Place), after him.

Players cigarette cards

Van Praag is listed as number 45 of 50 in the 1930s Player's cigarette card collection.

References

External links

The Flying Dutchman
– lionelvanpraag.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Praag, Lionel 1908 births 1987 deaths Australian speedway riders Individual Speedway World Champions Australian World War II pilots Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Recipients of the George Medal Australian Jews Wembley Lions riders New Cross Rangers riders Australian people of Dutch-Jewish descent Jewish sportspeople Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Military personnel from New South Wales