Colin George Pratt (10 October 1938 – 2 October 2021) was a British

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 and later promoter of the

Coventry Bees Coventry Bees were a motorcycle speedway team that existed from 1929 to 2018. They raced at Brandon Stadium, Brandon near Coventry, England. History A Coventry team was first formed in 1928 and competed in the inaugural season of the Souther ...

who compete in the British Elite League.

Racing career

Born in

Hoddesdon Hoddesdon () is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, lying entirely within the London Metropolitan Area and Greater London Urban Area. The area is on the River Lea and the Lee Navigation along with the New River. Hoddesdon i ...

, Hertfordshire, Pratt lived near to Mike Broadbank from whom he bought his first speedway bike at the age of nineteen, and practised at the nearby Rye House track.Oakes, Peter (1963) "A Peter Oakes Speedtale on Colin Pratt: Saints Must Regret Their Decision", ''

Speedway Star Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

'', 27 July 1963, p. 16 After his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

, he returned to the Rye House training track in 1960 and had his first competitive rides, reaching the final of the Whitsun Trophy. He was signed by the

Southampton Saints Southampton Saints were a speedway team which operated from 1928 until its closure in 1963. Its track was located at Banister Court Stadium in Southampton, Hampshire. History Southampton was one of the founder members of the 1929 Speedway So ...

, where he made his

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

debut against

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

. A broken wrist sustained at Swindon brought his debut season to an early end. He had only second-half rides for Southampton in 1961, and was loaned to

Poole Pirates Poole Pirates (also known as Poole Speedway) are a motorcycle speedway team based in Poole, England, competing in the SGB Championship. The club have been the List of United Kingdom speedway league champions, champions of the United Kingdom on ...

for whom he rode in three matches,

Ipswich Witches The Ipswich Witches are a British 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 7.30pm (first ...

(two matches), and then

Stoke Potters The Stoke Potters previously the Hanley Potters were a British speedway team competing in the National League. As Stoke, the team raced at Loomer Road Stadium in Newcastle-under-Lyme. As Hanley Potters they raced from 1929 to 1963. History ...

where he started to score well, with paid 15 points against Wolverhampton and a 12-point maximum against Cradley Heath. In 1962 he scored 177 points from 34 matches for the Potters, and improved further in 1963, scoring 141 points in his first 12 matches and winning all five races to win the Gerry Hussey Memorial Trophy at Rye House, breaking the track record during the meeting. He moved on to 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 ...

before joining the

Hackney Hawks Hackney Hawks speedway opened in 1963 at Hackney Wick Stadium, Waterden Road, London and operated until 1983. The team replaced the Hackney Wick Wolves who had raced at the stadium from 1935 to 1939. The Hawks were then themselves replaced by the ...

in 1964. He rode for the

Hawks Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfa ...

for six years until the 1970 season when he moved to the Cradley Heathens. However, he was forced to retire after he was involved in a road crash near

Lokeren Lokeren () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders, and belongs to the Waasland, also called ''Land van Waas'', of which it is the second most important city after Sint-Niklaas. The city, located on the river D ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. Five riders and officials died. Pratt was riding as a guest for the West Ham Hammers against a Danish select side in the Netherlands (in which he gained a five ride maximum). He sustained three broken bones in his neck and was warned by doctors that if he rode again and broke it he would be paralysed. After deciding the risk was too great he retired. Pratt was also a full England international and rode in two World Team Cup finals. He also qualified for the final of the

Speedway World Championship The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest-ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world, run under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). The first official championsh ...

in 1967. It was as a Hackney rider that he won the London Riders' Championship in 1967 and again in 1968.

Promoter and team manager

Pratt became co-promoter at 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 ...

with former boss Len Silver in 1979. In 1983, he spent a season as team manager at

King's Lynn Stars King's Lynn Stars are a motorcycle speedway team who compete in the SGB Premiership. The nickname "Stars" comes from the defunct Norwich Stars team. The team was founded in 1965 and has been running continually since then, except for 1996 when ...

before becoming promoter at

Cradley Heath Cradley Heath is a town in the Rowley Regis area of the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England approximately north-west of Halesowen, south of Dudley and west of central Birmingham. Cradley Heath is often confused with the ...

in 1984. He stayed at Cradley until 1996 where he became co-promoter of the ill-fated London Lions, based at the Hawks' previous stadium, Hackney Wick. By now it had been redeveloped and renamed the London Stadium. The promotion closed after one season so Pratt moved to the

Bradford Dukes The Bradford Dukes were a British motorcycle speedway team which operated from the Odsal Stadium in Bradford from 1986 until their closure in 1997.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. History Speedway has long been ass ...

as team manager. In 1998, the opportunity arose to join the

as promoter and Pratt has been there ever since in promoter/co-promoter and team manager roles. He also had an eight-year spell as the

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

team manager (with

Eric Boocock Eric Boocock (born 28 February 1945 in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, England) is a former Speedway rider who appeared in three Speedway World Championship finals. Career Eric Boocock started his career with the Middlesbrough Bears in 1961 and stayed ...

). He has won sixteen major trophies as a manager or promoter. He has served several terms on the

British Speedway Promoters' Association The British Speedway Promoters Limited (BSPL) organises the domestic motorcycle speedway competitions in the United Kingdom. They are also responsible for the promotion and running of the FIM meetings staged in Britain. Each club has a promot ...

management committee.

Personal life

Pratt died on 2 October 2021, at the age of 82 from cancer.

World Final Appearances

Individual World Championship

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establ ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

- 13th - 4pts

World Team Cup

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo is ...

Wrocław Wrocław (; , . german: Breslau, , also known by other names) is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, roughly ...

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

(with

Barry Briggs Barry Briggs (born 30 December 1934) is a New Zealand former speedway rider. Career He won the World Individual Championship title four times – in 1957, 1958, 1964 and 1966.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedw ...

Terry Betts Terence Arnold Betts (born 15 September 1943 in Harlow, Essex, England) is a former international speedway rider who reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in 1974. He became World Pairs Champion with Ray Wilson in 1972 and wa ...

Ivan Mauger Ivan Gerald Mauger (4 October 1939 – 16 April 2018) was a New Zealand motorcycle speedway rider. He won a record six World Championships (Finals), a feat equalled only with the inclusion of the Speedway GP Championships by Tony Rickardsson o ...

Nigel Boocock Nigel Boocock (17 September 1937 – 3 April 2015) was a British speedway rider who appeared in eight Speedway World Championship finals and was a reserve in one other (1962). Career Born in Wakefield, England, Boocock started his career with ...

) - 4th - 8pts (0) *

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal popula ...

Malmö Stadion Malmö Stadion, often known simply as Stadion before the construction of the new Stadion between 2007 and 2009, is a multi-purpose stadium in Malmö, Sweden. As of 2015, it is the home of association football club IFK Malmö, presently of Div ...

(with Ray Wilson /

) - 3rd= - 19pts (0)

References

External links

Hackney Hawks WebsiteRye House Speedway WebsiteCoventry Bees Website
* https://www.worldspeedwayriders.org/rider/40/colin-pratt {{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, Colin 1938 births 2021 deaths British speedway riders English motorcycle racers Speedway promoters Hackney Hawks riders Cradley Heathens riders Southampton Saints riders Swindon Robins riders Stoke Potters riders Rye House Rockets riders Yarmouth Bloaters riders Poole Pirates riders People from Hoddesdon Deaths from cancer in England