} Christopher Maurice Neath (born 29 January 1982) is a former

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. He earned one international cap for the

Great Britain national speedway team The Great Britain Speedway Team (also known as GB Speedway Team) is one of the major teams in international speedway. The team is managed by former Great Britain riders Oliver Allen and Simon Stead, and captained by the 2018 Speedway World Cha ...

Career

Neath began riding when competing in youth

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 the ...

competitions, winning numerous ACU Championship titles, British, National and Best Pairs. He first began riding league speedway for the Newport Mavericks during the

1998 Speedway Conference League The 1998 Speedway Conference League was the third tier/division of British speedway. Summary The title was won by St Austell Gulls. Final league table + withdrew - Norfolk replaced Skegness and took over fixtures Conference League Knockout Cup ...

. The following season, he captained the Mavericks to the league title, in addition to riding for the

Newport Wasps Newport Wasps were a British motorcycle speedway team based in Newport, South Wales from 1964 to 2012. They were the 1999 Conference League champions. The Wasp logo incorporates the traditional black and amber colours of the City of Newport. ...

senior team in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

and winning the

Premier Trophy The Major League Tournament (formerly known as the Premier Trophy) is the main domestic first-class cricket competition in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1938 and has existed under a number of different names. Matches before the 1988–89 seas ...

with them. In 2001, Neath also ventured to Sweden riding to a 10.68 point average for Norbaggarna. In 2002, Neath moved to Premier league rivals, the

Swindon Robins The Swindon Speedway team, also known as the Swindon Robins, are an English motorcycle speedway team established in 1949 that have competed primarily in the top division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom. They are five times ...

. He spent two seasons at Swindon and at this time he was also 'doubling up' with the club that owned his contract, the

Wolverhampton Wolves Wolverhampton Wolves are a British speedway team based in Wolverhampton, England. They are sponsored by Parry's International Travel, and signed a deal with owner Dave Parry (previous speedway rider for the Wolverhampton Wolves) for the 20 ...

. This was quite a successful time for Neath. He won the Elite League title with Wolves in 2002 and the

Premier League Four Team Championship The SGB Championship Fours formerly the Premier League Four-Team Championship is a contest between teams competing in the second tier of speedway in the United Kingdom. Teams are grouped into fours, with one rider from each team in each race. The ...

with the Robins in 2003. Neath moved to the

Rye House Rockets The Rye House Rockets were a speedway team based at Rye House Stadium, Hoddesdon, England. They competed in various British speedway leagues from 1954 to 2018. History Rye House began life in 1934 hosting open meetings. Whilst at Hackney in ...

in 2004 and helped them complete and League and Premier Trophy double in 2005. The following season in 2006, he suffered several injuries but was captain of the 2007 side that won the Premier League title. In 2008, having been a ten-year asset of the Wolverhampton Wolves Neath was awarded a testimonial meeting held at the Rye House Speedway, where he finished in third place behind Fredrik Lindgren and

Tai Woffinden Tai Woffinden (born 10 August 1990) is a British speedway rider. He is a three-time World Champion (2013, 2015 and 2018). Early life Woffinden was born in Scunthorpe, the son of former speedway rider Rob Woffinden. Although born in the United ...

. He represented Great Britain racing at Under-19, Under-21 and senior level. An injury in the opening match of the 2012 season saw him out of speedway for the rest of the season and he subsequently retired.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neath, Chris 1982 births Living people British speedway riders English motorcycle racers Sportspeople from Worcester, England Lakeside Hammers riders Newport Wasps riders Rye House Rockets riders Wolverhampton Wolves riders