Trevor John Redmond (16 June 1927 – 17 September 1997)Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2003) ''Bristol Bulldogs: 50 Greats'', Stroud: Tempus Publishing. was a New Zealand

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 who mainly rode for the

Aldershot Shots Aldershot Shots also known later as Aldershot Poppies were a speedway team that existed from 1950 to 1960, they were based primarily at Aldershot Stadium in Tongham, near Farnham. Brief history In 1929, eight meetings were held at Boxalls Lane ...

, and the

Wembley Lions The Wembley Lions were an English ice hockey team. History The team were founded in 1934 but showed a continuity with the London Lions team which had played at various venues since 1924. The Wembley team were based at the newly built Empire ...

. Redmond also opened a speedway track in

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

in 1962. He later became a promoter of

stock car Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

and

hot rod Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimised for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made ...

racing, mainly in southwest England, through his Autospeed organisation.

Career

Rider

Redmond started riding speedway in 1949 at the Aranui track in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

. He moved to the UK when he won a team place with the newly formed

in 1950. He was successful enough to attract the

to sign him in 1951, where he remained until their closure in 1956. Whilst with the Lions, Redmond qualified for two World Championship finals. A season in non-league speedway followed in 1957 but in 1958 he did not ride at all, instead he opened a track in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

St Austell St Austell (; kw, Sans Austel) is a town in Cornwall, England, south of Bodmin and west of the border with Devon. St Austell is one of the largest towns in Cornwall; at the 2011 census it had a population of 19,958. History St Austell wa ...

. He returned to racing for a spell with 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 ...

and moved onto the

Bristol Bulldogs The Bristol Bulldogs were a British motorcycle speedway team based in the Knowle Stadium, Bristol, England from 1928 to 1978.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. History The club was formed in 1928. Their first trophy ...

in 1960. The Bristol track closed at the end of that season and in 1961 Redmond had a brief spell with the

Wolverhampton Wolves Wolverhampton Wolves are a British speedway team based in Wolverhampton, England. They are sponsored by Parry's International Travel, and signed a deal with owner Dave Parry (previous speedway rider for the Wolverhampton Wolves) for the 2008 ...

. In subsequent years he was rider and promoter of league teams at Neath,(1962,) St. Austell,(1963) and Glasgow,(1964-65.) He was one of only 2 riders to appear in all 5 Provincial League Riders Championship Finals, being winner in 1960, and a disappointed Runner-Up in 1961 after a broken chain in his final ride cost him the title.

Promoter

In 1958, Redmond promoted at St Austell, on an open licence, and in 1961, he also promoted open meetings in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

(Shelbourne). In 1962, he opened a track in

. The team was named the Neath Welsh Dragons and operated in the

Speedway Provincial League The Provincial League was a league competition for speedway teams in the United Kingdom. The Provincial League created as a breakaway league from the National League and continued for five seasons between 1960 and 1964. History The 'Provincial ...

. The team finished in second place, which was considered a remarkable achievement by the speedway press. Neath folded at the start of the 1963 season, so Redmond took the

St Austell Gulls The St Austell Gulls were a speedway team which operated from 1949 until their closure in 1964 at the Cornish Stadium at Par, St Austell in Cornwall. In 1997 the team rode at the Clay Country Moto Parc until the club finally closed in 2000. E ...

into the

Provincial League Provincial League (formerly known as Professional League) also known as Pro League was the old regional Football league in Thailand in 1999–2008. It was founded in 1999 under the name "Provincial League" organized by Sports Authority of Thailan ...

. In 1964 he continued to both ride and promote, but this time with the Glasgow Tigers, which he reopened and operated from the White City Stadium. He stopped finally riding in 1964, but continued to promote the club until the start of the 1967 season. In 1970, Redmond was influential in the reopening of speedway at

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 ...

, with the return of the

. He was later a member of the

FIM FIM may refer to: Organizations and companies * Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation * Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States * Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media * ...

and was involved in the administration of international speedway, and he managed New Zealand speedway teams. He promoted motor racing at several tracks in southern England, including

Newton Abbot Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish on the River Teign in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England. Its 2011 population of 24,029 was estimated to reach 26,655 in 2019. It grew rapidly in the Victorian era as the home of the Sou ...

St Day St Day ( kw, Sen Day) is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated between the village of Chacewater and the town of Redruth. The electoral ward St Day and Lanner, Cornwall, Lanner ...

, Weymouth,

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, and two events at

. He died at his home in Glastonbury in 1997.

World final appearances

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

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 ...

- Res - Did not ride *

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

- 13th - 5ptsBamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. Trevor set up the business Autospeed and opened tracks in Newton Abbot and St Austell where they raced Bangers, Hot Rods and stock cars. Autospeed were the first to run Auto Rods which were to become the Saloon Stock Cars. They were also the first to run SuperRods which started as Jags and Fords as big engined Hotrods.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Redmond, Trevor 1927 births 1997 deaths New Zealand speedway riders Speedway promoters Wembley Lions riders Bristol Bulldogs riders Wolverhampton Wolves riders Swindon Robins riders Glasgow Tigers riders Aldershot Shots riders Neath Welsh Dragons riders St Austell Gulls riders