Brian Stonebridge (6 June 1928 – October 1959) was a leading

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

motorcycle racer of the 1950s competing in scrambles, now known as

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

. Born in

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, Stonebridge began riding for the

Matchless Matchless is one of the oldest marques of British motorcycles, manufactured in Plumstead, London, between 1899 and 1966. A wide range of models were produced under the Matchless name, ranging from small two-strokes to 750 cc four-stroke tw ...

scrambles team in 1950, winning a gold medal in that year's International Six Days Trial. In 1952 and 1954, he was a member of the British teams that won the

Motocross des Nations The Motocross des Nations (in French) is an annual team motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History ...

. In 1954, he joined the BSA factory team, helping develop the

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of t ...

BSA Bantam The BSA Bantam is a two-stroke unit construction motorcycle that was produced by the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) from 1948 (as a 125 cc) until 1971 (as a 175 cc). Exact production figures are unknown, but it was over 250,00 ...

scrambler. Stonebridge then moved to the Greeves racing team in 1957, becoming the company Competitions Manager and Development Engineer. He competed in the 1959 250cc European Motocross Championship, finishing the year in second place behind

Rolf Tibblin Rolf Tibblin (born 7 May 1937) is a Swedish former professional motocross racer. He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1957 to 1967. Tibblin was a three-time motocross world champion known for his exceptional physical fitness. Mot ...

. Stonebridge died in October 1959 after a road traffic accident when he was a passenger in a car driven by his 'boss' at the time, Bert Greeves.Obituary:Bert Greeves
"''Before Stonebridge could apply his talent fully for Greeves, he died in a road accident, a passenger in Greeves's car.''". ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'', 6 October 1993. Retrieved 12 April 2020

References

British motocross riders Enduro riders Sportspeople from Cambridgeshire Road incident deaths in England 1928 births 1959 deaths {{England-motorcycle-racing-bio-stub