Paul Simon Starke (born 18 November 1990) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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.

Career

Born in

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

, Starke started his career with the

Buxton Hitmen The Buxton Hitmen were a speedway team in the British National League (formerly the Conference League) from 1994 to 2018. The club stopped racing in the National League after the 2018 speedway season. History The team's inaugural season was i ...

in 2007, before going on to have spells at a variety of different clubs during his development into an Elite League rider. Starke's most successful period to date was his two years with the

Cradley Heathens Cradley Heathens was a motorcycle speedway team from Dudley, England. The team was founded in 1947 and competed at the top level of British speedway until its closure in 1995. It was revived as Dudley Heathens in 2010, competing in the National L ...

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 s ...

from 2013 to 2014. It was here that he won two league titles, forming a formidable partnership with

Steve Worrall Steven "Steve" Worrall (born 23 September 1991) is a British speedway rider. Career Born in St Helens, the twin brother of Richie Worrall, Steve competed in motocross before taking up speedway in 2009 and had his first competitive season in 2 ...

during the second year and he was part of the Dudley/Cradley team that won the National League Fours in 2013and 2014. His first spell in the Elite League in 2014, was a disappointing one. After being selected by the

Birmingham Brummies Birmingham Brummies are a British speedway team founded in 1928. They were inaugural members of the Southern League in 1929. The team have twice finished runner-up in the highest tier of British speedway, during the 1952 Speedway National Lea ...

in the reserve rider draft the club closed midway through the season due to financial problems. Despite this disappointment Starke said he 'enjoyed his time at Birmingham' and described their downfall as a "crying shame." The following season in 2015, Starke was back in the Elite League, this time being selected in the draft by reigning champions the

Poole Pirates Poole Pirates (also known as Poole Speedway) are a motorcycle speedway team based in Poole, England, competing in the SGB Championship. The club have been the champions of the United Kingdom on ten occasions. Poole Speedway is promoted by l ...

. He was part of the

Peterborough Panthers The Peterborough Panthers are a British speedway team based in Peterborough, England. They are three times champions of the United Kingdom, winning the highest level league in 1999, 2006 and 2021. History 1970–1994 The Panthers inaugural sea ...

team that won the

SGB Championship Fours The SGB Championship Fours formerly the Premier League Four-Team Championship is a contest between teams competing in the second tier of speedway in the United Kingdom. Teams are grouped into fours, with one rider from each team in each race. The ...

, which was held on 6 August 2017, at the

East of England Arena The East of England Showground is a large showground area (667,731sqm) located on East of England Way in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The Showground is owned by Bellway as of around 2019 and the site currently includes the East of Engla ...

. He spent two years with Glasgow Tigers in 2018 and 2019 and had a short spell with

Belle Vue Aces The Belle Vue Aces are a British motorcycle speedway, speedway club, based in Manchester. The club hold the record of having won the top tier List of United Kingdom speedway league champions, League championship 13 times. They currently compete ...

in the

SGB Premiership 2018 The SGB Premiership 2018 was the 84th season of the top division of Great British Speedway in 2018. The season ran between March and October 2018 and had eight teams participating. The line-up of teams remained the same as in 2017. The Swindon Rob ...

. In 2021, he signed for the

Ipswich Witches The Ipswich Witches are a British speedway club based at Foxhall Stadium near Ipswich, Suffolk. They compete in the British SGB Premiership. Meetings are staged on most Thursdays from March until October, normally commencing at 7.30pm (first ra ...

in the

SGB Premiership The Speedway Great Britain (SGB) Premiership is the top division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom, governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB) in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA). It was in ...

and

Kent Kings The Kent Royals (formerly Kings) are a British speedway team formed in 2013. Through 2021 they competed in the SGB Championship but also run a junior team in the National League. They were based at Central Park Stadium in Sittingbourne, with a t ...

in the

SGB Championship The Speedway Great Britain (SGB) Championship is the second division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom, governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA). It ...

. The following season in 2022, he raced again for Ipswich and joined

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 ...

from Kent but following the demise of Newcastle he switched to the

Oxford Cheetahs The Oxford Cheetahs are a British speedway teamLawson,K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”. based at Oxford Stadium, in Oxford, England. They were founded in 1939 and are five times champions of Britain, in 1964, 1985, 1986, 1989 and ...

for the

SGB Championship 2022 The 2022 SGB Championship season is the 75th season of the second tier of British Speedway and the 5th known as the SGB Championship. Summary Eleven clubs competed in the Championship in 2022, with Oxford returning to the sport after a 15 year ab ...

season. The Cheetahs were returning to action after a 14-year absence from British Speedway. In 2023, he signed for

Plymouth Gladiators The Plymouth Gladiators are a speedway team in the British SGB Championship. Under several names Plymouth have competed during various seasons from 1932. The club was reformed after a gap of thirty-six years in 2006 by former St Austell Gulls r ...

for the

SGB Championship 2023 The 2023 SGB Cab Direct Championship season will be the 76th season of the second tier of British Speedway and the 6th known as the SGB Championship. The British Speedway Network (BSN) would stream 35 matches live for the second year running. S ...

. He had previously ridden for the Plymouth when they were known as the Devils from 2008 to 2010. However, he was released by the club in June.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Starke, Paul 1990 births Living people English motorcycle racers Belle Vue Aces riders Berwick Bandits riders Birmingham Brummies riders Buxton Hitmen riders Cradley Heathens riders Glasgow Tigers riders Ipswich Witches riders Isle of Wight Islanders riders Newcastle Diamonds riders Oxford Cheetahs riders Plymouth Devils riders Plymouth Gladiators speedway riders Poole Pirates riders Rye House Rockets riders Somerset Rebels riders