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Roland Stobbart, (26 December 1909 - 6 March 1981) was an English speedway rider and promoter. He earned two international caps for the England national speedway team.


Biography


Early days

Roland Stobbart was born at
Aspatria Aspatria is a town and civil parish in the non-metropolitan district of Allerdale, and is currently embraced in the Parliamentary constituency of Workington, Cumbria, England. Historically within Cumberland the town rests on the north side of t ...
,
Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
, England in 1909; the eldest of two sons to an haulage contractor. Even before he reached maturity one Cumberland newspaper was describing him as, "probably the finest racing motorcyclist in Cumberland. A clever, daring rider who does not know the meaning of the word fear." He was at that time attached to the Workington Motor Cycling Club. By the age of twenty he had met with considerable success on Dirt tracks and Grasstracks throughout the north of England and had successfully taken part in sand races in Scotland. When they introduced grass track racing at Whitehaven he became the principal prize-winner. In 1930 he entered the senior
Manx Grand Prix The Manx Grand Prix motorcycle races are held on the Isle of Man TT Course (or 'Snaefell Mountain Course, Mountain Circuit') every year for a two-week period, usually spanning the end of August and early September. New for 2022 is a period re ...
on the Isle of Man, formerly known as the Manx Amateur Motorcycle Road Race. Although he buckled his front wheel half-a-mile from the start he continued the race and the distance of over 200 miles with a soft tyre and a badly bent wheel. His average speed was 64.7 miles per hour, and he did the fastest lap at 68 miles per hour. Stobbart entered the race in the following two years but despite doing good times in the practice laps he failed to complete either of the races. In 1932 he retired after the first lap when he suffered a puncture.


Workington

The first motor cycle cinder track race at Workington took place at Lonsdale Park on 15 August 1931. The event promoted by the Workington Motor Cycle Club was the brainchild of Roland Stobbart. A total of 32 competitors from all over the
North of England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
, including future world finalist Bill Kitchen, took part in a series of 'scratch' and 'handicap' events in a 21-race programme and attracted over 2,000 spectators. Both Roland and his younger brother Maurice both competed, and although Sheffield rider, George Mortimer, won both events Roland set the course record and beat him in the Cumberland versus Yorkshire match. The winner of the 'scratch' event received the princely sum of £5, while second and third received £3 and £1-10 shillings (£1.50p) respectively. Meanwhile, the winner of the ' handicap' event picked up £4, with the second and third placed riders collecting £2 and £1-10 shillings (£1.50p) each. Notwithstanding the size of the crowd this inaugural meeting was a financial disaster and in consequence no more meetings took place that year. However the banked, narrow circuit, at 439 yards per lap had provided fast and exciting racing despite its narrow width restricting races to only three riders. In 1932 the 'Border Sports Club' promoted a total of eight meetings, held at fortnightly intervals, and attracted crowds averaging 3,000 for each meeting. On 28 June, Roland, who often raced with a
cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...
between his lips, broadsided, skidded and wobbled four times round the rain soaked track at 45 miles per hour to set a new one mile record for the Workington track of 1 min 19.2 seconds, two seconds short of the then British record. At these events Stobbart won both the
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. and the Golden Helmet.


National Speedway

Roland began his English national Speedway career riding for
Leeds Lions Leeds Lions are a defunct British motorcycle speedway team who were based at Fullerton Park Sports Stadium, adjacent to the Elland Road football ground in Leeds, England. History Leeds Lions operated between 1928 and 1938. League racing first ...
during the 1931 season, while simultaneously riding at Workington. In 1932, after a short spell with
Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...
he moved to West Ham Hammers, after the Lancashire club folded. He remained with the ‘Hammers’ until he moved to Provincial league Bristol in 1937. In 1938 he rode for the Newcastle Diamonds, where he remained until World War II disrupted his career. In the 1939 season he was a sensation. He bought a motorcycle from Arthur Atkinson for £15 and then proceeded to score 16 out of 18 points at Newcastle, 8 out of 9 points at Edinburgh, 9 out of 12 at Sheffield, and 10 out of 12 at Hackney, London. During the 1948 season he came out of retirement to act as Newcastle second reserve.


International honours

On 1 November 1935, Roland left Aspatria to sail for Australia as a member of the England team chosen to ride in the test matches that winter. He was accompanied by Arthur Atkinson, Harold
Tiger Stevenson Harold Montague Stevenson (1 November 1907 – 5 December 1994) was a motorcycle speedway racer from England. Career Stevenson rode for the West Ham Hammers from 1929 until 1939 in early pioneer days, captaining the club for most of them. He w ...
, Joe Abbott,
Dusty Haigh Herbert Haigh known as Dusty Haigh (Q1 1906 – 15 May 1936) was an international speedway rider who rode in the earliest days of the sport in Britain. Speedway career Haigh started riding in 1928 at Halifax before moving to Sheffield and Bel ...
and Jack Parker.West Cumberland Times 2 November 1935 He was selected again in season 1939 when he rode for England against the Dominions.


Promoter and manager

In 1937, Roland broke his arm while riding for West Ham and as a consequence took no further part in that year's campaign. Instead he became manager of Workington, a position he retained in 1938; introducing riders of the calibre of George Greenwood, George Pepper,
Charlie Spinks Charlie may refer to: Characters * "Charlie," the head of the Townsend Agency', from the ''Charlie's Angels'' franchise * Charlie, a character on signs for the CharlieCard, a smart card issued by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority * ...
and Norman Hargreaves.Hoare (1979), p.30 He also promoted Speedway at Dam Park, Ayr in 1937, and
Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...
in the same year. In 1933 Rol became a minor celebrity, appearing as a stuntman in a film entitled ''
Money for Speed ''Money for Speed'' is a 1933 British sports film, sports drama film directed by Bernard Vorhaus and starring John Loder (actor), John Loder, Ida Lupino, Cyril McLaglen and Moore Marriott. It is centered on the sport of Motorcycle speedway, spee ...
'', starring Ida Lupino and
John Lauder John Lauder (c.1488 – after February 1560) was Scotland's Public Accuser of Heretics. He was twice sent to Rome by King James V, to confirm the loyalty of the Scottish crown. As Principal Private Secretary to Cardinal David Beaton, Archbishop ...
.


References


Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stobbart, Roland Sportspeople from Aspatria 1909 births 1981 deaths British speedway riders English motorcycle racers Speedway promoters Isle of Man TT riders West Ham Hammers riders Bristol Bulldogs riders Newcastle Diamonds riders Harringay Tigers riders Wimbledon Dons riders Sportspeople from Cumbria Leeds Lions riders