Mark Vincent Courtney (born 25 March 1961) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England, who rode 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 ...

for several teams between 1978 and 2003. He earned five international caps for the

England national speedway team The Great Britain Speedway Team (also known as GB Speedway Team) is one of the major teams in international speedway. The team is managed by former Great Britain riders Oliver Allen and Simon Stead, and captained by the 2018 Speedway World Cham ...

Biography

Courtney was born in Braintree,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

in 1961 and moved with his family to

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Locat ...

when he was twelve, and he began his speedway career with second-half races at Workington in 1977.Jones, Alan (2010) ''Speedway in Leicester: The Lions Roar'', Automedia, p. 162Lions Fans hoping Jamie Courtney is a chip off the old block
, ''

Leicester Mercury The ''Leicester Mercury'' is a British regional newspaper for the city of Leicester and the neighbouring counties of Leicestershire and Rutland. The paper began in the 19th century as the ''Leicester Daily Mercury'' and later changed to its ...

'', 31 March 2011, retrieved 2011-10-30 He joined the Barrow team in the

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 ...

the following year, moving to Middlesbrough Tigers in 1979. He won the British Junior Championship in 1980 and moved up to the

on loan with the

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 ...

the same year, splitting his time between the two leagues.Oakes, Peter (1981) ''1981 Speedway Yearbook'', Studio Publications, , p. 243 Also in 1980, he won the National League Pairs, partnering Steve Wilcock for Middlesbrough, during the

1980 National League season The 1980 National League was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom. Summary The league was increased from 19 teams to 20 from the previous season. Exeter Falcons dropped down from the British League to join the 19 inc ...

. In 1982, he moved to Leicester full-time after a 15,000 transfer, and in the same year finished as runner-up in the European Under-21 final.Oakes, Peter (1982) ''1982 Speedway Yearbook'', Studio Publications, , p. 239 In 1983 he was the Lions' highest-average rider, and represented England four times. At the end of the 1983 season, Courtney requested a transfer and signed to ride for the

Belle Vue Aces The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway club, based in Manchester. The club hold the record of having won the top tier League championship 13 times. They currently compete in the SGB Premiership, racing at The National Speedway Stadium, wi ...

in 1984, and then

King's Lynn Stars King's Lynn Stars are a motorcycle speedway team who compete in the SGB Premiership. The nickname "Stars" comes from the defunct Norwich Stars team. The team was founded in 1965 and has been running continually since then, except for 1996 when Ki ...

in 1985. In 1986, he dropped back down to the National League with Middlesbrough, while also making fifteen appearances for Belle Vue. He helped the Middlesbrough win the Fours Championship during the 1986 National League season. A successful three-year spell at Berwick between 1988 and 1990 was followed by seasons at Glasgow, Rye House and then Middlesbrough. He was sacked by Middlesbrough at the end of the 1993 season after an incident involving a

fire extinguisher A fire extinguisher is a handheld active fire protection device usually filled with a dry or wet chemical used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergencies. It is not intended for use on an out-of-control fire, such as one which ha ...

at a hotel in Swindon. This effectively triggered his retirement from the sport, Courtney later moving into the building trade. After being arrested in May 1997, Courtney was sentenced to six years in prison in 1998 for his part in a plot to import

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...

with a street value of 500,000 into the UK.Belcher, David (2001)
Return of the Shale-slider
, ''

Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

'', 17 March 2001, retrieved 2011-10-30 After seven years away from racing, Courtney, released from prison on licence, returned in 2000 with Glasgow, moving on to Trelwany midway through 2001. He moved on to his final club, Rye House, in 2002, finally retiring at the end of the 2003 season, after which he became a mechanic, most notably for Chris Harris.Harris Hires Courtney
, speedwayworld.tv, 8 July 2011, retrieved 2011-10-30

Family

Courtney's sons Scott Courtney and Jamie Courtney followed him into speedway, both of whom went on to manage speedway teams. Mark Courtney's brother Sean Courtney also rode from 1982 to 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Courtney, Mark 1961 births People from Braintree, Essex Living people British speedway riders English motorcycle racers Leicester Lions riders Middlesbrough Bears riders Belle Vue Aces riders King's Lynn Stars riders Newcastle Diamonds riders Berwick Bandits riders Glasgow Tigers riders Rye House Rockets riders Trelawny Tigers riders