Thomas Leadbitter (8 September 1945–1995) was a British
scrambles
''Scrambles'' is the fifth studio album by Bomb the Music Industry!, released digitally and physically on February 15th, 2009. The album was released a year and a half after Get Warmer, making it the longest gap between the release of two chrono ...
,
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 ...
and
grasstrack rider.
Biography
Born in
Lichfield,
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
, Leadbitter was a successful grasstrack racer before taking up speedway in 1966 at the training school at
Long Eaton.
[Jones, Alan (2010) ''Speedway in Leicester: The Lions Roar'', Automedia, p. 170] After a single match for
Glasgow Tigers in 1966 he rode in four matches for
Long Eaton Archers in 1967. In 1968 he was signed by newly formed
Leicester Lions, but only made one appearance for the team that season, spending most of it on loan to
Middlesbrough Teessiders.
In 1969 he progressed with Middlesbrough,
averaging close to nine points per match, and had ridden in four matches in the top division as a guest for
Newcastle Diamonds.
In 1970 he stayed with Middlesbrough as well as riding in several matches for his parent club Leicester, and was recalled to a full team place for the Lions in 1971.
He competed in the Second Division Riders Championship in 1970, finishing in fifth place.
At the end of the season he transferred to
Wolverhampton Wolves where he spent four seasons, establishing himself as a solid scorer, although in 1975 his rides for Wolves were limited and he returned to Teesside in the
National League where he averaged over nine points and recorded five full maximum and three paid maximum scores in 33 matches. After a second season back with Teesside in 1976 he moved on to
Bristol Bulldogs in 1977, his final season before retiring.
Leadbitter represented England against the Soviet Union in 1974, and represented Young England against Scotland in 1975.
Leadbitter was also a top scrambles rider, winning the British Scrambles Championship in 1970 and 1972.
[Oakes, Peter & Mauger, Ivan (1976) ''Who's Who of World Speedway'', Studio Publications, , p. 74] He also rode in grasstrack events in
France and
Germany.
References
1945 births
Sportspeople from Lichfield
1995 deaths
British speedway riders
British motocross riders
Long Eaton Archers riders
Leicester Lions riders
Middlesbrough Bears riders
Newcastle Diamonds riders
Wolverhampton Wolves riders
Bristol Bulldogs riders
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