Joe Owen
Owen pictured in 1976
Born (1956-09-13) 13 September 1956
Ormskirk, Lancashire, England
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1973–1974Barrow Bombers
1974Belle Vue Aces
1975–1976, 1982–1984Newcastle Diamonds
1975–1981Hull Vikings
1982Cradley Heathens
1982–1983Leicester Lions
1985Ellesmere Port Gunners
Individual honours
1976, 1982National League Riders Champion
1979Daily Mirror/Weslake 16-Lapper
Team honours
1976, 1982, 1983, 1985National League Champion
1976, 1982, 1983National League Four Team Champion
1976, 1982National League KO Cup Winner
1985National League Best Pairs
1982, 1983National League Supernational Playoff Champion

Joseph William Owen (born 13 September 1956) is a British former motorcycle speedway rider from England.[1] He earned three international caps for the England national speedway team.[2]

Career

Born in Ormskirk, Owen took up speedway at the age of fourteen at the training school at Belle Vue and made his competitive debut for Barrow Bombers in the British League second division in 1973.[3]

By 1974, he averaged over seven points per match and rode in the Young England team in matches against Australasia and Poland.[3] In 1975, he moved to Newcastle Diamonds and rode in the top division for Hull Vikings, for which he would go on to ride until 1981.[3] He again represented Young England in 1975 and finished as runner-up in the British Junior Championship.[3]

During the 1976 National League season, Owen won the National League Riders Final,[4] and experienced an outstanding season. In addition to the riders title, he also won the Fours Championship[5] and topped the league averages with a remarkable 11.55 average.

Owen finished as runner-up in the European Under-21 Championship in 1977.

He returned to Newcastle in the National League in 1982, also riding on loan at Leicester Lions in the British League in 1982.[6] In 1982, he won the National League Rider's Championship, held at Wimbledon Stadium on 18 September for the second time[7] and the fours championship for a second time.[8]

The following season in 1983, he won the fours championship for the third time.[9]

In 1985, he moved on to Ellesmere Port Gunners in what proved to be his final season, in which the Gunners won the National League and Owen won the National League Best Pairs title with Louis Carr.[10] A crash at Birmingham in 1985 ended his career and left him paralysed.[11]

He went on to represent the full England team on several occasions.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Lawson,K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”. ISBN 978-0-244-72538-9
  2. ↑ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Oakes, Peter & Mauger, Ivan (1976) Who's Who of World Speedway, Studio Publications, ISBN 0-904584-04-6, p. 9
  4. ↑ "Joe Owen gains speedway double". Lincolnshire Echo. 4 October 1976. Retrieved 17 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ↑ "Brothers clinch win for Diamonds". Lynn Advertiser. 20 July 1976. Retrieved 9 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. 1 2 Jones, Alan (2010) Speedway in Leicester: The Lions Roar, Automedia, p. 157
  7. ↑ "Owen is the king". Sunday Sun (Newcastle). 19 September 1982. Retrieved 20 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ↑ "Heartbreak puncture robs Tigers of national Fours title". Cambridge Daily News. 26 July 1982. Retrieved 10 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ↑ "Tigers miss out again in dramatic finish". Cambridge Daily News. 25 July 1983. Retrieved 10 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ↑ "1985 Ellesmere Port results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  11. ↑ Backtrack, Issue 3, July–August 2004
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