Stephen John (Steve) Weatherley (born 26 November 1957 in

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

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 ...

) is a former motorcycle speedway rider who was twice runner-up in the British Speedway Under 21 Championship. He rode primarily for the

Eastbourne Eagles The Eastbourne Eagles were a British speedway team, based at Arlington Stadium, near Eastbourne, England, that raced in the SGB Championship. History Speedway was initially introduced to Eastbourne in 1929. During their first league season th ...

and the

White City Rebels The White City Rebels were a motorcycle speedway team who operated from the White City Stadium, Wood Lane in London. History White City were inaugural members of the Southern League in 1929 but only raced for the one season. The White City team ...

, who won the British League in 1977.Oakes, P.(2004). ''British Speedway Who's Who''. On 8 June 1979 he was paralysed whilst riding for

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

at Hackney Wick Stadium, Waterden Road. He was involved in a terrible crash with

Vic Harding Vic Harding (5 July 1952 in East Ham, London – 8 June 1979 Whipps Cross, London) was a motorcycle speedway rider. Career Harding began at the Rye House training school in 1970 run by Len Silver and spent several seasons trying to break into ...

. Harding was killed and Weatherley was left with a broken back. He has used a wheelchair since the crash.Fenn, C.(2003). ''Hackney Speedway, Friday at Eight''. His nephew, Lee Richardson (1979-2012) was an international speedway rider.

References

1957 births Living people British speedway riders English motorcycle racers Eastbourne Eagles riders White City Rebels riders Hull Vikings riders Poole Pirates riders Wolverhampton Wolves riders Cradley Heathens riders {{England-speedway-bio-stub