Phillip William Morris (born 10 September 1975 in
Newport, Wales)
is a retired British
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. He was the former
Team GB
Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for their British Olympic team. The brand was developed after the nation's poor performance in the 1996 Summer Olympics, and is now a trademark of the BOA. I ...
Under 21 team manager. He was also the team manager of 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 ...
for two seasons.
Speedway career
Early years
Phil Morris was the Welsh Schoolboy
grasstrack
Motorcycle Grasstrack is a form of track racing which typically, in its current form, takes place on a flat track consisting of two straights and two bends usually constructed in a field. It is one of the oldest types of motorcycle sports in the ...
champion at the age of nine and within two years was also the British Youth Grasstrack Champion, a title he won a total of five times. He was signed by 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 ...
a few days before his 16th Birthday.
Reading Racers
Plunged straight into first team action at the end of the 1991 season, the Welsh teenager was then named in the Racers starting line up for the 1992 season, and was part of the team that won 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 ...
title that season. Morris became a key part of the Reading side over the next five seasons and although the club didn't repeat the success of the 1992 season, the Welshman was firmly established in the sport.
He spent the 1997 away from Reading, his home town club
Newport Wasps
Newport Wasps were a British motorcycle speedway team based in Newport, South Wales from 1964 to 2012. They were the 1999 Conference League champions. The Wasp logo incorporates the traditional black and amber colours of the City of Newport.
...
look set to sign him but they changed their mind on a contract offer, so Morris joined
Stoke Potters
The Stoke Potters previously the Hanley Potters were a British speedway team competing in the National League. As Stoke, the team raced at Loomer Road Stadium in Newcastle-under-Lyme. As Hanley Potters they raced from 1929 to 1963.
History
H ...
on loan from Reading, before re-joining his parent club for the 1998 season. In 1999 Morris proved himself as a force to be reckoned with in the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
and continued this form into the 2000 season, when he won the first speedway meeting of the year, at the New Year Classic on 2 January 2000 at Newport Speedway. The 2000 season was Morris' tenth on the books of Reading Speedway and he was granted a testimonial meeting, which attracted over 3000 people to Reading's Smallmead Stadium.
In 2001 and 2002 Morris continued to prove he was one of the best riders in the Premier League, and he came third in the 2002
Premier League Riders' Championship
The Premier League Riders Championship was a contest between the top riders (or two riders) with the highest average points total from each club competing in the Premier League in the United Kingdom. The championship was inaugurated in 1995, the s ...
at
Belle Vue. A knee injury suffered in Sweden curtailed his 2003 season, but he was back in the saddle for 2004, and proved his fitness with a 12-point maximum in his first meeting back against
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 Kin ...
. Although 2004 was to be his last full-time campaign in Reading colours, he also achieved one of his finest moments in the sport, when he partnered Danny Bird to win the Premier League Riders Pairs Championship.
Life after Reading
For the 2005 season Morris signed with the
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 ...
. Niggling injuries meant Morris did not quite live up to expectations. In 2006, he was signed by Elite League
Belle Vue, where his long-time friend and multi-world champion
Jason Crump
Jason Philip Crump (born 6 August 1975) is an Australian international motorcycle speedway rider. He is a three-time Speedway World Champion, a World Cup winner and a former World Under-21 Champion.
In a 21-year career in Speedway, Jason Cr ...
was team captain. Morris finished the season with a -point average.
For the 2007 season, he received the offer to ride for his home town club Newport, some ten years after they had pulled the plug on his contract. Although Morris was their highest scorer in most meetings, the team struggled badly and crowds dwindled, which led to the club cutting costs and Morris agreeing to move on and join fellow Premier League side Birmingham.
Birmingham Brummies
Morris was signed on a full transfer 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 2008. Morris suffered serious internal injuries in a crash at
Mildenhall in early April and on his return to action in late May he suffered another injury, a badly dislocated shoulder at
Rye House.
Final years
His injury problems were to have a lasting effect on the Welshman, and, although he returned to the saddle in 2009, signing to ride for the
Stoke Potters
The Stoke Potters previously the Hanley Potters were a British speedway team competing in the National League. As Stoke, the team raced at Loomer Road Stadium in Newcastle-under-Lyme. As Hanley Potters they raced from 1929 to 1963.
History
H ...
in the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
and starting the season well with some good performances, problems with his shoulder meant his scoring slumped and he was axed from the side, going on to ride for the
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 ...
, where again he struggled for points. He also doubled up with 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 Hamme ...
in the
Elite League, where he produced a number of good performances. However, he took a heavy fall at Workington in August, and once again the shoulder was badly dislocated. On the advice of medics he took the decision to retire from speedway to avoid permanent damage to the shoulder. Morris announced his retirement from competitive Speedway at the age of 34 in September 2009. Two years later, in September 2011, Morris staged his farewell meeting at Birmingham Speedway.
Management
He was appointed as head coach of the 2010 Great Britain under 21 team. This proved so successful that he was tasked with responsibility for the management, development and co-ordination of activities with regards to the riders aged 21 and below in British Speedway a role he continued in for the next 4 seasons.
In 2012 he was appointed Assistant Team Manager for the Senior Squad as well, a role he undertook for 2013 Speedway World Cup as well.
Morris also successfully lead Team GB to a series victory over Australia in a series of meetings held on Premier League tracks.
In 2012 Morris returned to the Birmingham Brummies to manage the team, alongside the incumbent manager and promoter Graham Drury. In their first year as joint team managers they led the Brummies to the Elite League play-off's, for the first time since the club's reformation in 2006. For the 2013 season Morris took over the full team management duties, where he led the Brummies to the league's top slot at the end of the season, only to see them lose to
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 ...
in the grand final. Morris resigned from his position at the end of the campaign, revealing unrest behind the scenes as his main reasons.
After playing a key role in the development of the newly formed Elite League Rider draft system, which saw young British riders fast tracked into the 2014 Elite League teams, Morris decided to tender his resignation from the role of under 21 coach at the end of the season. In December 2014, he was named the new FIM Race Director for the
Speedway Grand Prix
Speedway Grand Prix are a series of stand-alone motorcycle speedway events over the course of a season used to determine the Speedway World Champion. The series started in 1995 replacing the previous format of a single event final. The first win ...
World Championship series as well as the
Speedway World Cup
The Speedway World Cup is an annual motorcycle speedway, speedway event held each year in different countries. The first edition of the competition in the current format was held in 2001 and replaced the old Speedway World Team Cup, World Team Cu ...
, following the retirement of
Tony Olsson.
Game show appearances
Morris has appeared on a number of UK television
game shows
A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, sh ...
including ''
The Weakest Link
''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which The Weakest Link (British game show), first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host ...
'', ''
Brainbox Challenge'' where he won several hundred pounds and ''
Eggheads''.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Phil
1975 births
Living people
British speedway riders
Welsh motorcycle racers
Welsh speedway riders
Sportspeople from Newport, Wales
Belle Vue Aces riders
Reading Racers riders
Newport Wasps riders
Lakeside Hammers riders
Birmingham Brummies riders
Newcastle Diamonds riders
Stoke Potters riders