Stephen Henry Bastable (born 16 September 1956, in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, England) 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 from England.

Family

His father

Harry Bastable Harry Bastable is a former international motorcycle speedway rider and promoter. Career summary Harry Bastable's was a novice at the Alan Hunt 1949 winter training school when he was signed up by Cradley Heath Heathens. For experience he ...

, was also a speedway rider.

Career

Bastable spent the majority of his career with the

Cradley Heathens Cradley Heathens was a motorcycle speedway team from Dudley, England. The team was founded in 1947 and competed at the top level of British speedway until its closure in 1995. It was revived as Dudley Heathens in 2010, competing in the National L ...

but in three years with the

Coventry Bees Coventry Bees were a motorcycle speedway team that existed from 1929 to 2018. They raced at Brandon Stadium, Brandon near Coventry, England. History A Coventry team was first formed in 1928 and competed in the inaugural season of the Southern ...

he scored almost one thousand points. In 1978, he won the

British League Pairs Championship The British League Pairs Championship was a speedway contest between the top two riders from each club competing in the British League in the UK, or the top division thereof when it had multiple divisions. The meetings comprised a competition ...

with

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 ...

, during the

1978 British League season The 1978 Gulf British League season was the 44th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 14th season known as the British League. Summary The list of nineteen teams that competed in the league was identical to the previou ...

. Three years later he won the 1981

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 1988, he won the National League Pairs, partnering Graham Jones 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 ...

, during the 1988 National League season.

World Final Appearances

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 ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

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 ...

- Reserve - did not ride

References

1956 births Living people British speedway riders English motorcycle racers British Speedway Championship winners Coventry Bees riders Birmingham Brummies riders Stoke Potters riders Cradley Heathens riders Bradford Dukes riders {{England-speedway-bio-stub