Travis McGowan (born 13 January 1981 in

Mildura Mildura is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 in 2021. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point and Merbein are included, the area had ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

) is an Australian

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

rider.

Career

McGowan started racing motorbikes the age of ten, and in 1993 he won the Australian Under-16 Championship at Darwin's

Northline Speedway Many sports are played in the Northern Territory of Australia. Animals in sport The Katherine Show & Rodeo and Noonamah Tavern Rodeo Australian rules football Australian rules football is the Territory's most popular sport, particularly wit ...

. Success continued as he won the

Australian Under-21 Speedway Championship The Australian Under-21 Speedway Championship is a motorcycle speedway championship held each year since 1986, with the exception of 1994 and 1995, to determine the Australian Under-21 national champion. The event is organised by Motorcycling Aust ...

in 1998, 2000 and 2002, as well as taking five consecutive victories in the Victorian State Championship between 2001 and 2005. By winning the Victorian title five times in a row, McGowan broke the record of four straight wins previously held by Mildura speedway legends

Phil Crump Philip John Crump (born 9 February 1952) in Mildura, Victoria is a retired Australian Motorcycle speedway riderLawson,K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”. who attained 3rd place in the 1976 World Championship. He also won the 1976 Spe ...

(1972-1975, 1979-1982) and

Leigh Adams Leigh Scott Adams (born 28 April 1971 in Mildura, Victoria)Oakes, P.(2004). ''British Speedway Who's Who''. is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider. He is a multiple Speedway Grand Prix winner and World Team Champion. He also w ...

(1989-1992). In 1999 McGowan was offered a team spot for the

King's Lynn Stars King's Lynn Stars are a motorcycle speedway team who compete in the SGB Premiership. The nickname "Stars" comes from the defunct Norwich Stars team. The team was founded in 1965 and has been running continually since then, except for 1996 when Kin ...

in the British Elite League. He remained in the team for the following season but returned to Australia in 2001. He returned to King's Lynn in 2002 before moving to the

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 ...

in 2003. In 2006 he switched to the

Reading Bulldogs Reading Racers are a British motorcycle speedway team. Formed in 1968, they won four British League titles during their history. The club closed in October 2008 after the lease on Smallmead Stadium was sold and the site was demolished. In 2016 a ...

, where he remained for two years before transferring to the

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 ...

in 2008. Aside from his racing in the British Elite League, McGowan has also ridden for the Swedish Elitersien team

Rospiggarna Rospiggarna is a motorcycle speedway team based in Hallstavik, Sweden. The club was founded in 1930 and were named ''Orion'', although it did not compete in the Swedish speedway leagues until 1966. The club joined the Swedish Division Three in 196 ...

(2006–2008) and the Polish Ekstraliga club

Unia Leszno Unia Leszno are a motorcycle speedway team established in 1938 and based in Leszno, Poland. They compete in the Polish Ekstraliga and are the league champions from the 2018 Speedway Ekstraliga season. The team's home track is at the Stadion Alfre ...

(2007–2008). In 2010 McGowan signed for

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

team Glasgow Tigers. In 2011, McGowan rode for

team

Somerset Rebels The Somerset Rebels were a British speedway team based in Highbridge, Somerset. Founded in 2000, the club competed in the British SGB Championship until 2019. Their home track was located at the Oak Tree Arena. History The club's stadium, The ...

, however he was later released by the club. Travis has since gone on to pioneer the Australian Shovelhead Racing League (ASRL).

Shovel Racing

After retiring from speedway but still with a desire to race, Travis founded the Australian Shovelhead Racing League. The first official race took place in Albury (Victoria) in 2015. The racing is performed on a speedway or other oval track over 4 laps. Motorcycles must be a Harley Davidson built between 1966–1983. If any other sort of motorcycle is included so as to make up a full racing field they will have appropriate handicaps assigned. The first race meeting in Albury was under lights with a good crowd in attendance.

World Final appearances

Individual Under-21 World Championship

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

Gorzów Wielkopolski Gorzów Wielkopolski (; german: Landsberg an der Warthe) often abbreviated to Gorzów Wlkp. or simply Gorzów, is a city in western Poland, on the Warta river. It is the second largest city in the Lubusz Voivodeship with 120,087 inhabitants (Decemb ...

Edward Jancarz Stadium Edward Jancarz Stadium ( pl, Stadion im. Edwarda Jancarza) is a 15,000-capacity multi-use stadium in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland, and the home of motorcycle speedway club Stal Gorzów Wielkopolski. It is currently used mostly as a 329 m racetr ...

- 10th - 6pts

References

1981 births Living people Australian speedway riders Swindon Robins riders Oxford Cheetahs riders Reading Racers riders King's Lynn Stars riders {{australia-speedway-bio-stub