Christopher Louis (born 9 July 1969) is a former international
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 clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...
rider from England, who primarily rode for the
Ipswich Witches
The Ipswich Witches are a British motorcycle speedway club based at Foxhall Stadium near Ipswich, Suffolk. They compete in the British SGB Premiership. Meetings are staged on most Thursdays from March until October, normally commencing at 7.30 ...
. He earned 41 international caps for the
England national speedway team
The Great Britain national speedway team (formerly the England speedway team) is one of the major teams in international motorcycle speedway. The team is managed by former Great Britain riders Oliver Allen and Simon Stead, and captained by th ...
and 3 caps for the Great Britain team. He is the son of former Great Britain International John Louis.
Career
Louis is former schoolboy
grasstrack
Motorcycle Grasstrack is a form of track racing which typically, in its current form, takes place on a flat track consisting of two straights and two bends usually constructed in a field. It is one of the oldest types of motorcycle sports in t ...
champion. He started his professional career at Hackney before moving to Ipswich in 1989 where he rode to the end of his riding career. He has missed a couple of seasons due to injury. He became the World Under-21 Champion after winning the
1990 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship
The 1990 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship was the 14th edition of the World motorcycle speedway Under-21 Championships.
The championship was won by Chris Louis of England.
World final
*9 September 1990
* Stadium Ska, Lviv
Ref ...
.
Chris Louis made history in 1993 when he became the first son of a former World Finalist to also qualify for the World Final when he finished in third place in
Pocking
Pocking (; ) is a town in the Passau (district), district of Passau, in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is situated about 30 km south-west of Passau, close to the Austria, Austrian border.
History
A Roman settlement was founded in the area of Poc ...
, Germany. Louis tied with former champion Hans Nielsen of Denmark in 11 points, only 1 point behind winner
Sam Ermolenko
Guy Allen Ermolenko (born November 23, 1960 Maywood, California) is a former motorcycle speedway rider. During his career he was known as Sam Ermolenko. In 1993, he won the Speedway World Championship.
Career Early career
After originally ...
of the United States. In a run-off to decide overall second place, Nielsen defeated Chris Louis who had to settle for third in his World Final debut.
Louis also qualified for the 1994 World Final in
Vojens
Vojens () is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,424 (1 January 2025).Speedway Grand Prix
Speedway Grand Prix are a series of stand-alone motorcycle speedway events over the course of a season used to determine the Speedway World Champion. The series started in 1995 replacing the previous format of a single event final. The first ...
series which replaced the former World Final in 1995. He finished a career best 7th in the 1995 SGP with a best finish of third in 1995 Speedway Grand Prix of Poland. In 1996, he was extremely unfortunate not to be crowned the Premier League Riders Champion, after an engine failure denied him when he was leading on the last lap of the final.
He continued to take part in the SGP series as a regular rider until
2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
, with his best finishes being second placings in the
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
2001
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
before making his last appearance as wild card in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
.
During his career, Chris won trophies in the UK, Poland, Sweden and Germany, and in 1998 and 2000 he followed his father's footsteps by becoming British Speedway Champion (John Louis won in 1975). Chris Louis remained an ever present for Ipswich for 19 seasons, from 1989 to 2008, with the exception of missing the 2003 season with a back injury.
Louis maintained his relationship with Ipswich becoming both their team manager and promoter but he stepped down as team manager in 2014. He remained as promoter leading into the
SGB Premiership 2025
The 2025 SGB ROWE Motor Oil Premiership is the 90th season of the top tier of British speedway and the 8th known as the SGB Premiership.
Belle Vue Aces are the defending champions, while Sheffield Tigers are the defending Knockout Cup champ ...
season.
World Final appearances
*
1993
The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as:
* International Year for the World's Indigenous People
The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
–
Pocking
Pocking (; ) is a town in the Passau (district), district of Passau, in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is situated about 30 km south-west of Passau, close to the Austria, Austrian border.
History
A Roman settlement was founded in the area of Poc ...
1994
The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations.
In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
–
Vojens
Vojens () is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,424 (1 January 2025).Speedway Center – 12th – 6pts