Victor Duggan (16 October 1910,

West Maitland Maitland () is a city in the Lower Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River approximately by road north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle. It is on the New England ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

– 24 March 2007,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

)Addison J. (1948). ''The People Speedway Guide''. Odhams Press Limited was a

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 ...

racer who won the

London Riders' Championship The London Riders' Championship was an individual Motorcycle speedway, speedway competition for top riders of teams from London. It was a very prestigious competition, especially in its early days. However, as the number of teams from London dwind ...

in 1947 whilst with the

Harringay Racers Harringay Racers refers to multiple British ice hockey teams based in Harringay, London, United Kingdom. Harringay Racers The first team to use the Harringay Racers moniker was founded in 1936 and initially played alongside Harringay Greyhou ...

. He started his career in 1937 with the

Hackney Wick Wolves Hackney Wick Wolves speedway opened in 1935 at Hackney Wick Stadium, Waterden Road, London, and operated until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Many years later the Hackney Hawks and Hackney Kestrels rode at Hackney Wick Stadium. History Th ...

, before spells with 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 1938 and

Wimbledon Dons The Wimbledon Dons were a professional motorcycle speedway team who operated from the Wimbledon Stadium, Plough Lane in London.Jacobs, N. ''Speedway in London'', The track opened in 1928 and the Dons operated there from 1929 until 1991. They w ...

in 1939. In 1947, he returned to the UK with the

. Was a co-director of the

Sydney Sports Ground The Sydney Sports Ground No. 1 was a Stadium and Dirt track racing venue in Sydney, New South Wales. The ground was located where the car park of the Sydney Football Stadium (SFS) currently sits. The ground had two main grandstands and was surro ...

with

Lionel Van Praag Lionel Maurice Van Praag, GM (17 December 1908 – 15 May 1987) was an Australian motorcycle speedway champion, who won the inaugural Speedway World Championship in London on 10 September 1936. Van Praag's victory saw him established as Austra ...

and

Max Grosskreutz Max Octavius Grosskreutz (born 27 April 1906 in Proserpine, QueenslandBamford, R. & Stallworthy, D. (2003) ''Speedway – The Pre War Years'', Stroud: Tempus Publishing. - died 20 September 1994) was an Australian speedway rider. Speedway car ...

where he held the track record. Vic Duggan won his first

Australian Solo Championship The Australian Solo Championship is a motorcycle speedway championship held each year to determine the Australian national champion. It is organised by Motorcycling Australia (MA) and is the oldest continuously running national speedway champion ...

in 1941 at the Sydney Sports Ground. He followed this up with the 1947 Aussie title, again at the Sports Ground and backed up to win three Aussie titles in 1948 (2 x 2 lap and 1 x 3 lap) at both the Sports Ground and the

Sydney Showground Speedway Sydney Showground Speedway, originally known as the Speedway Royal and later the Speedway Royale but often referred to as just The Royale or The Showground, was a dirt Dirt track racing venue at the old Sydney Showground used from 1926 until ...

. He was also NSW State Champion in 1940 and 1947. Many believe Vic would have won more Australian and NSW titles had it not been for

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

when racing was suspended. He competed in the British Riders' Championship in 1947 and 1948. This competition was held in place of the

Individual Speedway World Championship The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest-ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world, run under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). The first official champion ...

between 1946 and 1948. He was favourite to win in 1947 but fell in his fourth race and did not start his fifth. He won the title in 1948 with 14 points. Vic Duggan competed in the 1950 World Final at

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 ...

's,

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 ...

where he finished in 13th place after scoring 4 points. Duggan died of natural causes following a

seizure An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with los ...

on 24 March 2007, in a hospital in Queensland.

World Final Appearances

* 1950 –

– 13th – 4ptsBamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duggan, Vic 1910 births 2007 deaths Australian speedway riders People from New South Wales Hackney Wick Wolves riders Harringay Racers riders Wimbledon Dons riders Bristol Bulldogs riders