Cyril Manners Roger (27 December 1921 – 26 May 2015) was an 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 ...

,who rider reached the final of Speedway World Championship five times.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. He earned 25 international caps for the England national speedway team.

Career

Roger started his career with the

Exeter Falcons The Exeter Falcons were a Motorcycle speedway, speedway team based in the city of Exeter. The Falcons operated from 1947 to 2005 at the County Ground Stadium in Exeter. History Origins & 1920s Speedway began at the County Ground in 1929, ...

in 1947 on loan from the

New Cross Rangers The New Cross Rangers were a motorcycle speedway team which operated from 1934 until their closure in 1953. They also rode as the New Cross Lambs from 1934 to 1935 and then the New Cross Tamers in 1936. The team were List of United Kingdom Spe ...

. Until July 1948, he was part of the Falcons team that won the National League Division Three Championship, but was recalled by New Cross. He featured in ten outings for New Cross, and received a medal when they won the National League Division One title in the same season.Jacobs, N. (2008) ''Out of the Frying Pan'', The History Press LTD In 1949, he joined the Rangers full-time and qualified for the first of his five World Final appearances. In 1950, Roger won the prestigious London Riders' ChampionshipBelton, Brian (2003). ''Hammerin' Round''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing and made his debut for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Roger stayed with New Cross until 1953, making two further World Final appearances in the meantime, before joining the

Norwich Stars Norwich Stars were a motorcycle speedway team based in Norwich, England, which operated from 1930 until their closure in 1964.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. History Origins and 1930s Speedway came to Norwich ...

when the Rangers closed. A season with the Poole Pirates in 1956 was followed with a season with the Ipswich Witches where he broke his leg. Roger returned to racing in 1959 with the

where he stayed for two seasons before finishing his career after three seasons with the Southampton Saints in 1963.

World final appearances

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

- London,

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

- 10th - 7pts *

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

- London, Wembley Stadium - Res - 5pts *

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

- London, Wembley Stadium - 15th - 2pts * 1955 - London, Wembley Stadium - 16th - 0pts *

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

- London, Wembley Stadium - 16th - 0pts

Family

His brothers Bob and Bert were both speedway riders and all three brothers rode at the same time for New Cross.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roger, Cyril 1921 births 2015 deaths British speedway riders English motorcycle racers New Cross Rangers riders Exeter Falcons riders Norwich Stars riders Ipswich Witches riders Poole Pirates riders Southampton Saints riders Sportspeople from Ashford, Kent 20th-century English sportsmen