Raymond "Ray" Wilson (born 12 March 1947 in Merton, Surrey, England)Oakes, Peter & Mauger, Ivan (1976) ''Who's Who of World Speedway'', Studio Publications, , p. 113-4 is a former international speedway rider who was World Pairs Champion in 1972 and British Speedway Champion in 1973, was also England Team Captain for five years in the early 1970s. He was the first Englishman to record a maximum score in a World Team Cup Final. His father Ron Wilson, was also a speedway rider for Leicester and Oxford in the early 1950s.

Domestic career

Wilson competed in cycle speedway for Leicester Monarchs before following his father into a career in motorcycle speedway. He first rode at Leicester Stadium in 1962 after a league meeting and after occasional visits to the training track at Rye House and further second-half rides at Long Eaton in 1963, made his competitive debut in 1963 for Long Eaton Archers, coming in as an emergency replacement against

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 ...

. He was included in the Archers team in 1964, although the season was interrupted by a broken leg.Arnold, Peter "Profiles of Some Leading Riders: Ray Wilson" in Silver, Len & Douglas, Peter (1969) ''The Speedway Annual'', Pelham Books, , p. 121-4 In 1965, he rode with the Archers in the new British League, and in 1966 he rode in every league match for the Archers, finishing the season with an average of 8.6. He then raced in Australia over the Winter and in 1967 his performances improved again, averaging 10.36 per match. He also reached the British Final, scoring ten points and qualifying for the World Final, where he finished in eighth place. He followed the Long Eaton promotion when they moved to Leicester to open the Leicester Lions. He stayed with the Lions for nine seasons, scoring over four thousand points (including bonus points). For the final three seasons of his career he joined the Birmingham Brummies. Outside speedway, Wilson ran his own haulage company. He is currently enjoying the role of Ambassador to his home town team, Leicester.

International career

Wilson first rode for England in 1966 against Scotland, and in 1967 rode in test matches against Sweden and Poland. He was part of England's line-up for the 1967 World Team Cup, becoming the youngest Englishman to feature in a World Team Cup final at aged twenty, and was part of the England team that toured Australia in 1967/8. 1967 also saw him appear in his first of four World Championship finals. In 1972 he became World Pairs Champion with partner Terry Betts. He captained Great Britain when they won the World Team Cup in 1973, and was also a member of the winning teams in 1971, 1972 and 1974 (the latter for England). His maximum score in 1971 led to him gaining the nickname "World Cup Willy".

World Final appearances

Individual World Championship

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

- London, Wembley Stadium - 8th - 7pts *

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

- Göteborg, Ullevi - 4th - 11pts *

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. ...

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 ...

, Silesian Stadium - 14th - 5pts *

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. ...

- London, Wembley Stadium - 11th - 5ptsBamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing.

World Pairs Championship

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

* - Kempten (with Geoff Mudge) - 2nd - 21pts (9) *

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

- Borås (with Terry Betts) - Winner - 24pts (15+3) ''* Unofficial World Championships.''

World Team Cup

* - Malmö, Malmö Stadion (with Eric Boocock / Barry Briggs / Ivan Mauger / Colin Pratt) - 3rd= - 19pts (4) *

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

* - London, Wembley Stadium (with Ivan Mauger / Barry Briggs /

Nigel Boocock Nigel Boocock (17 September 1937 – 3 April 2015) was a British speedway rider who appeared in eight Speedway World Championship finals and was a reserve in one other (1962). Career Born in Wakefield, England, Boocock started his career with t ...

/ Eric Boocock) - 2nd - 31pts (4) *

* - Wroclaw, Olympic Stadium (with Jim Airey / Ivan Mauger / Barry Briggs / Ronnie Moore) - Winner - 37pts (12) *

* - Olching, Olching Speedwaybahn (with Ivan Mauger / Terry Betts / John Louis) - Winner - 36pts (8) *

* - London, Wembley Stadium (with Malcolm Simmons / Peter Collins / Terry Betts) – Winner – 37pts (8) *

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 ...

, Silesian Stadium (with Peter Collins / John Louis / Dave Jessup / Malcolm Simmons) - Winner - 42pts (dnr) ''* 1967-1973 for Great Britain. All others for England.''

References

External links

Leicester SpeedwayLeicester Speedway News & History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Ray 1947 births Living people British speedway riders English motorcycle racers Speedway World Pairs Champions British Speedway Championship winners Birmingham Brummies riders Leicester Lions riders Long Eaton Archers riders