Michael George Powell (born 24 September 1969) is a former
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 from Australia.
Career
Powell started his British leagues career during the
1989 National League season
The National League was the second tier of British speedway racing in 1989.
Summary
The champions that year were Poole Pirates.
Final table
National League Knockout Cup
The 1989 National League Knockout Cup was the 22nd edition of the Knockou ...
, where he rode for
Edinburgh Monarchs
The Edinburgh Monarchs are a Scottish Speedway team, currently based in Armadale. They compete in the SGB Championship, racing on Friday nights during the Speedway season. The club is run by a board of directors, chaired by Alex Harkess. The cl ...
.
[ He spent two seasons with Edinburgh and struggled to find consistent form, before moving to Scottish rivals Glasgow Tigers in 1991.][
He spent five years with Glasgow from 1991 to 1995, slowly improving his average and recorded a 7.43 average in 1993. He was part of the team that won the 'double double' (the 1993 and 1994 league and cup doubles).
In 1996, Glasgow failed to field a team so Powell appeared for the controversial ]Scottish Monarchs
The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth I MacAlpin (), who founded the state in 843. Historically, the Kingdom of Scotland is thought to have grown ...
(Edinburgh racing at Glasgow) during the 1996 Premier League speedway season before returning to Glasgow in 1997.[ It was during 1997 that Powell established himself as one of Glasgow's leading riders and the following season in 1998 averaged an impressive 9.32.][
In 2000, he moved from Glasgow to join ]Workington Comets
The Workington Comets are a British speedway club, based in Workington, Cumbria, racing out of the Northside Training Track. The team previously operated from 1970 to 2018 and were based at Derwent Park Stadium which they shared with Workington ...
and gained success by partnering Carl Stonehewer
Carl Bryan 'Stoney' Stonehewer (born 16 May 1972) is a former motorcycle speedway rider.
Career Landmarks
Speedway Grand Prix
* The first UK Premier League (speedway), Premier League rider to qualify for the Speedway Grand Prix.
**Grand Prix S ...
to the Premier League Pairs Championship
The SGB Championship Pairs Championship formerly the Premier League Pairs Championship (from 1997 to 2016) is a motorcycle speedway contest for the second tier teams in the SGB Championship in the United Kingdom. The teams consist of the top two ri ...
title, held at Derwent Park
Derwent Park is a Speedway and Rugby League Stadium in Workington, England situated beside the Cumbrian River Derwent. It is used mostly for rugby league matches and is the home stadium of Workington Town who play in League 1 the 3rd tier o ...
. After two years with Workington he returned to Glasgow for a third time in 2002 and had one last season with Newcastle Diamonds
Newcastle Diamonds were a motorcycle speedway team that raced in the SGB Championship, every Sunday night during the season (March–October) from their home at the Newcastle Stadium on the Fossway, Byker. The Stadium, previously known as Broug ...
in 2003.[
]
References
Living people
1969 births
Australian speedway riders
Berwick Bandits riders
Edinburgh Monarchs riders
Glasgow Tigers riders
Workington Comets riders
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