Peter Spencer Collins

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(born 24 March 1954) is a former

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 who spent his whole career (1971–1986) with the

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 ...

, the team he supported as a child. The only other club he rode for was the now defunct

Rochdale Hornets The Rochdale Hornets are a professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, competing in the Championship, the second tier of European rugby league. The Rochdale Hornets are one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs ...

(Belle Vue's nursery team), with whom he spent the first season of his career on loan. During his career, Peter Collins won 10 World Championships in speedway competition (one

Individual An individual is that which exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of being an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) of being a person unique from other people and possessing one's own Maslow ...

, four

Pairs Concentration, also known as Memory, Shinkei-suijaku (Japanese meaning "nervous breakdown"), Matching Pairs, Match Match, Match Up, Pelmanism, Pexeso or simply Pairs, is a card game in which all of the cards are laid face down on a surface and tw ...

and five World Team Cups) making him the most successful British rider in history.

Early life

Collins was born on 24 March 1954 at the Davyhulme Hospital in

Urmston Urmston is a town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, which had a population of 41,825 at the 2011 Census. Historically in Lancashire, it is southwest of Manchester city centre. The southern boundary is the River Mersey, with Stretford ...

, Manchester.Lanning, Russell (1985) "Rider Profile: Peter Collins", ''

Speedway Star 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 cour ...

'', 18 May 1985, p. 20-21 He worked at a market garden while at school to save up for a bike, and spent two years as an apprentice fitter with

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

before leaving to concentrate on his speedway career.

Career

Belle Vue Aces

Peter rode his first full season for the Aces in 1972 attaining an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

of 8.44 in British League matches while still only eighteen years of age. In addition the Aces won the league and cup double that year. Peter won the

British Speedway Championship The British Speedway Championship is an annual motorcycle speedway competition open to British national speedway riders. The winner of the event becomes the British Speedway Champion. History Inaugurated in 1961 as a qualifying round of the Spe ...

in 1979.

World Individual championships

In 1973 he qualified for his first

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 championsh ...

Chorzów Chorzów ( ; ; german: link=no, Königshütte ; szl, Chorzōw) is a city in the Silesia region of southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central cities of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union – a metropolis with a population ...

, Poland. Peter again qualified for the World Final in 1974 finishing in equal fourth place with a creditable nine points. He did however win the British League Riders Championship (BLRC) at Hyde Road. The 1975 World Final was held at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

but resulted in disappointment for Collins who again finished just off the podium. The 1976 final proved to be the highlight of his career however as he became World Champion with fourteen points in

Katowice Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most popul ...

, Poland.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. In 1977 however, he was injured whilst riding at his home track, badly breaking his leg. He attempted to defend his title, in extreme pain and unable to walk without crutches; he narrowly missed out, finishing second.

World Pairs Championships

Collins won four World Pairs Championship titles during his career, all with different partners, whilst riding for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

or England. The 1977 title was won on his home Belle Vue (Manchester) track with

Malcolm Simmons Malcolm Simmons (20 March 1946 – 25 May 2014) was a British speedway rider. Career Simmons was born in Tonbridge, Kent. After starting in second-half races at New Cross, he made his Provincial League debut at Hackney Hawks in 1963 aged seven ...

. In 1980 he partnered

Dave Jessup David John Jessup (born 7 March 1953 in Ipswich, England) is a former speedway rider who finished runner-up the Speedway World Championship in 1980 to fellow countryman Michael Lee.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Spe ...

to victory in Krsko, Yugoslavia. Yorkshireman

Kenny Carter Kenneth Malcolm Carter (28 March 1961 – 21 May 1986), was a British world class speedway rider. He rode for Newcastle Diamonds (1978), Halifax Dukes (1978–1985) and Bradford Dukes (1986). On Wednesday, 21 May 1986, he shot dead his w ...

was his partner in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

in 1983 whilst he was paired up with fellow Mancunian Belle Vue Ace

Chris Morton Christopher John Morton, MBE (born 22 July 1956) is a former motorcycle speedway rider. He rode bikes from a young age at the farm of Peter Collins' parents. Brief career summary Born in Davyhulme, Lancashire, Morton made his debut for Elles ...

for his final pairs title in 1984 at

Lonigo Lonigo is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, northern Italy, its population counts around 16,400 inhabitants.Source: ISTAT - Bilancio demografico al 31/12/200 In its ''frazione'' of Bagnolo is the Villa Pisani, a Renaissance ...

in Italy. He also finished second with Carter to the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

pairing of Bobby Schwartz and

Dennis Sigalos Arthur Dennis Sigalos (born August 16, 1959) is an American former professional motorcycle speedway, speedway rider. Career Born in Garden Grove, California, Sigalos was a rising star in speedway racing during the late 1970s. Sigalos served no ...

in the 1982 World Pairs Final in Sydney. England's win in the 1983 World Pairs Final was considered lucky. Collins was lucky to be allowed to re-start Heat 10 against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

(

Erik Gundersen Erik Gundersen (born 8 October 1959 in Esbjerg, Denmark) is a former motorcycle speedway rider in the late 1970s and 1980s. Gundersen is one of the most successful speedway riders of all time. He was the ...

and Hans Nielsen) after video replays suggested that he had simply mis-judged the slick

Ullevi Ullevi, sometimes known as Nya Ullevi (, ''New Ullevi''), is a multi-purpose stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was built for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but since then has also hosted the World Allround Speed Skating Championships six times; the ...

track going into the first turn after the start and had fallen causing the race to be stopped. With Collins luckily still in the race, the extra two points England gained as a result of their 5–0 win over the Danes (Nielsen had a tape exclusion on the re-run while Gundersen had an engine failure after comfortably leading for 2¾ laps) would prove crucial as England defeated Australian pair

Billy Sanders William Robert Sanders (9 September 1955 – 23 April 1985Oakes, P (1982). ''Daily Mirror 1982 Speedway Yearbook''. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. ) was an Australian international Speedway rider who won six Australian Championships and w ...

and

Gary Guglielmi Gary Graham Christopher Guglielmi (born 14 February 1958 in Sydney, New South Wales) is a former Australian international Speedway rider who represented Australia in both test matches and in the World Pairs Championship. Guglielmi is of Itali ...

by just one point to win the title. Ironically, later in the meeting Sanders (to that point undefeated on the day) had like Collins fallen on the slick track in turn 1 of their heat against the West Germans. Although he had let Collins re-start after falling, the

FIM FIM may refer to: Organizations and companies * Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation * Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States * Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media * ...

referee of the meeting, Australian Sam Bass, had no hesitation in excluding his fellow countryman from the re-run which was ultimately won by Guglielmi. With the West Germans out of form at Ullevi it was likely Australia would have scored a 5–1 result had Sanders not been excluded. Ultimately, both decisions by Bass helped England secure their record 6th World Pairs title.

World Team Cup

Collins was a five time World Team Cup champion. His first title came with

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

just two weeks after his World Final debut in Poland. His four other wins came riding for

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 b ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

(

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

(

Norden Norden is a Scandinavian and German word, directly translated as "the North". It may refer to: Places England * Norden, Basingstoke, a ward of Basingstoke and Deane * Norden, Dorset, a hamlet near Corfe Castle * Norden, Greater Manchester, a vi ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

(Wrocław) and

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

(Wrocław). He also finished second in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

(

Landshut Landshut (; bar, Landshuad) is a town in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also t ...

, West Germany),

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

(

Vojens Vojens (german: Woyens) is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,475 (1 January 2022).Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

) and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

(

Leszno Leszno (german: Lissa, 1800–1918 ''Lissa in Posen'') is a historic city in western Poland, within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the seventh-largest city in the province with an estimated population of 62,200, as of 2021. Previously, it ...

, Poland).

After Speedway

On his retirement, he became part of the team responsible for saving the club following the sale of the Hyde Road stadium, and taking the team back to their then original home on Kirkmanshulme Lane. He also became a respected television commentator with

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

. In November 2001 he was awarded an MBE for services to motorcycle racing.

Family

Peter has four brothers all of whom were speedway riders, Les (who finished second behind

Bruce Penhall Bruce Lee Penhall (born May 10, 1957) is an American former professional motorcycle speedway racer who later starred in television and in film. He was the World Speedway Champion in 1981 and 1982 and rode for the successful Cradley Heath Heathen ...

in the 1982 World Final in Los Angeles),

Phil Phil may refer to: * Phil (given name), a shortened version of masculine and feminine names * Phill, a given name also spelled "Phil" * Phil, Kentucky, United States * ''Phil'' (film), a 2019 film * -phil-, a lexical fragment, used as a root te ...

Neil Neil is a masculine name of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. A ...

and

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

. With his wife Angela he has a son and daughter. His son

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), N ...

and nephew Aidan were also riders but have both retired from the sport.

World final appearances

Individual World Championship

–

Silesian Stadium Silesian as an adjective can mean anything from or related to Silesia. As a noun, it refers to an article, item, or person of or from Silesia. Silesian may also refer to: People and languages *Silesians, inhabitants of Silesia, either a West Sla ...

– 12th – 6pts *

–

– 6th – 9pts *

– London,

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 ...

– 5th – 10pts *

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

–

– Winner – 14pts *

–

– 2nd – 13pts *

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

–

– 11th – 6pts *

–

– 7th – 8pts *

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

– Los Angeles, Memorial Coliseum – 13th – 5pts

World Pairs Championship

–

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, Hyde Road (with

) – 4th – 20pts (12) *

–

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

(with John Louis) – 4th – 20pts (7) *

–

, Hyde Road (with

) – Winner – 28pts (15) *

– Krsko,

Matija Gubec Stadium Matija Gubec Stadium ( sl, Stadion Matije Gubca) is a multi-purpose stadium in Krško, Slovenia. The stadium was built in 1946 and has a capacity of 1,470 seats. It is currently used mostly for football matches and also hosts motorcycle speed ...

(with

) – Winner – 29pts (14) *

– Sydney, Liverpool City Raceway (with

) – 2nd – 22pts (15) *

–

(with

) – Winner – 25pts (10) *

–

Pista Speedway The Pista Olimpia Terenzano is a 4,000-capacity motorcycle stadium in the Terenzano Province of Udine. The stadium is situated south of Udine and north east of Pozzuolo del Friuli. The stadium has been the home of the World Championship round kno ...

(with

) – Winner – 27pts (13)

World Team Cup

* – London,

(with

/ Ray Wilson /

Terry Betts Terence Arnold Betts (born 15 September 1943 in Harlow, Essex, England) is a former international speedway rider who reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in 1974. He became World Pairs Champion with Ray Wilson in 1972 and was ...

) – Winner – 37pts (12) *

–

(with John Louis /

) – Winner – 42pts (12) *

–

, Motodrom Halbemond (with

Martin Ashby Martin Ashby (born 5 February 1944) is a retired English international speedway rider who reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in 1968. He also finished third in the Speedway World Pairs Championship in 1969 with Nigel Boococ ...

/ John Louis) – Winner – 41pts (12) *

–

(with

/ Michael Lee /

/ John Davis) – Winner – 37pts (10) *

–

, Stadion Ellermühle (with

/ Michael Lee /

Gordon Kennett Gordon William Kennett (born 2 September 1953) is a former motorcycle speedway rider. In 1978 he won the World Pairs Championship with Malcolm Simmons. He also finished runner-up to Ole Olsen in the 1978 Speedway World Championship at Wembley. ...

) – 2nd – 27pts (6) *

–

(with

/ Michael Lee) – Winner – 40pts (10) *

–

Vojens Vojens (german: Woyens) is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,475 (1 January 2022).Speedway Center (with

/ Michael Lee /

) – 2nd – 29pts (1) *

–

, Alfred Smoczyk Stadium (with

Simon Wigg Simon Antony Wigg (15 October 1960 – 15 November 2000) was an English speedway, grasstrack and longtrack rider who won five World Long Track Championships and finished runner-up in the Speedway World Championship in 1989.Rogers, G.(200 ...

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

/ Neil Collins) – 2nd – 24pts (2) ''* 1973 for

. All others for

.''

World Longtrack

* 1974

Scheeßel Scheeßel (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Scheeßl'') is a municipality in the district of Rotenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Wümme, approx. 10 km northeast of Rotenburg, 45 km east of Bremen, and 70 km south ...

- 7th - 11pts * 1975

Gornja Radgona Gornja Radgona (; german: Oberradkersburg, hu, Felsőregede) is a town in Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Gornja Radgona. Once it was a defensive stronghold for today's regional centre and its twin city, Bad Radkersburg, on the ...

- 9th - 11pts * 1976 Did not compete * 1977 Semi-final * 1978

Mühldorf Mühldorf am Inn (Central Bavarian: ''Muihdorf am Inn'') is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the district Mühldorf on the river Inn. It is located at , and had a population of about 17,808 in 2005. History During the Middle Ages, ...

- 3rd - 24pts * 1979 Marianske Lazne - 12th - 7pts * 1980

- 12th - 7pts * 1981

- 9th - 10pts * 1982

Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport town and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban population of 71,698 (1 January 2022)

- 5th - 15pts * 1983 Semi-final * 1984 Herxheim - 4th - 16pts * 1985

- 3rd - 18pts * 1986

Pfarrkirchen Pfarrkirchen is a municipality in southern Lower Bavaria Germany, the capital of the district Rottal-Inn. It has about 12,500 inhabitants and is an important school centre with about 10,000 pupils from all over Lower Bavaria. The town spreads o ...

- 2nd - 18pts * 1987 Semi-final

European Grasstrack Championship

Finals

1978

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 ...

- 8th - 15pts

References

External links

* http://manchesterhistory.net/bellevue/collins.html * http://grasstrackgb.co.uk/peter-collins/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Peter 1954 births Living people British speedway riders English motorcycle racers Individual Speedway World Champions Speedway World Pairs Champions British Speedway Championship winners Sportspeople from Manchester Members of the Order of the British Empire Belle Vue Aces riders Segrave Trophy recipients Individual Speedway Long Track World Championship riders