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Frederick "Rick" Timmo (born 27 July 1947 in
Napier, New Zealand
Napier ( ; mi, Ahuriri) is a city on the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Hawke's Bay Region, Hawke's Bay region. It is a beachside city with a Napier Port, seaport, known for its sunny climate, esplanade lin ...
) 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.
Career
Timmo had his first rides at Napier, where he spent three years before being advised by Colin McKee to try his luck in England. McKee fixed a trial for Timmo at Hackney but promoterDanny Dunton
Dennis Clifford "Danny" Dunton (13 May 1924 – 2 January 2015) was an English international motorcycle speedway rider and promoter who reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in 1950, achieving 12th place with 5 points. As well as ...
signed him up for 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 1967 British League season
The 1967 British League season was the 33rd season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the third season known as the British League.
Summary
The league was made up of the same 19 teams that competed in the previous year. Swindon ...
. He stayed at Oxford for a number of years and became a fans favourite.
Barry Briggs
Barry Briggs (born 30 December 1934) is a New Zealand former speedway rider.
Career
He won the World Individual Championship title four times – in 1957, 1958, 1964 and 1966.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedwa ...
, another Kiwi, tried to tempt Timmo to ride for Swindon Robins
The Swindon Speedway team, also known as the Swindon Robins, are an English motorcycle speedway team established in 1949 that have competed primarily in the top division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom. They are five times l ...
but he declined.
In the season 1968–69, Timmo toured with the British Lions in New Zealand. His performance made him a favourite and he would go on to ride for his home country against England, Australia and Sweden.
His career was prematurely ended when he had a nasty crash at a grasstrack meeting and broke his femur.
Retirement
Retiring from speedway he returned home to Napier where he set up a business – Timmo Motorcycles. His son, Spencer, became a speedway rider for Mildenhall Fen Tigers and Newcastle Diamonds, and now races cars in the UK.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Timmo, Rick Living people 1955 births Sportspeople from Napier, New Zealand New Zealand motorcycle racers New Zealand speedway riders Oxford Cheetahs riders