David James Morton (born 24 September 1953 in Eccles,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

) 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. He earned 18 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 ...

Career

Morton started his career with the

Crewe Kings The Crewe Kings was a British Motorcycle speedway, Speedway team which operated in Crewe, Cheshire from 1969 until its closure in 1975. History Origins A speedway track operated for a short time in the late 1920s / early 1930s, at the Londo ...

during the

1971 British League Division Two season The 1971 British League Division Two season was the second tier/division motorcycle speedway in Great Britain. Summary The league continued with 17 teams in its fourth season despite Reading Racers moving up to Division One and two teams d ...

. He was signed by

Hackney Hawks Hackney Speedway opened in 1935 at Hackney Wick Stadium, Waterden Road, London, and operated until 1996. The team raced under various names, known as Hackney Wick Wolves, Hackney Hawks, Hackney Kestrels and London Lions. History Origins & 1 ...

in 1973 from Crewe Kings. He won the British Best Pairs in 1975 and his best domestic season on an individual basis was the 1976 British League season, when he recorded an impressive 10.28 league average for Hackney. Morton almost missed the entire 1977 season with a broken leg. He requested a transfer in 1978 and was swapped for

Finn Thomsen Finn Thomsen (born 16 February 1955 in Arhus, Denmark) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Denmark. He earned 30 caps for the Denmark national speedway team. Career Thomsen was a Speedway World Team Cup winner with the D ...

from

Wolverhampton Wolves Wolverhampton Wolves were a British motorcycle speedway team based in Wolverhampton, England. They were champions of the United Kingdom five times and raced at Monmore Green Stadium from 1928 to 2023. History 1928–1930 Speedway (known ...

, where he rode for three seasons. He won the New Zealand Championship in 1975. He was also British Finalist (1975, 1976, 1978, 1980) and New Zealand Champion (1975). He retired in 1988.

Personal life

His brother

Chris Morton Christopher John Morton, MBE (born 22 July 1956) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. He earned 115 international caps for the England national speedway team and 7 caps for the Great Britain team, making him the third most capp ...

was also a speedway rider and the third most England and British capped rider of all time. Morton now works for

Swissport Swissport International Ltd. is a Swiss aviation services company providing airport ground handling, lounge hospitality and cargo handling services. Its headquarters are located in Opfikon, Canton of Zürich, Switzerland. In 2022, Swissport h ...

(formerly Servisair) at

Manchester Airport Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2024, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passengers (the busiest outside of London) ...

as a technician on the ground support equipment for the aircraft when they are at the airport terminal. He lives in Manchester with his partner, Bernadette. He likes music, especially blues and rock and bluegrass and plays a bit of banjo. He is the author of a memoir about his time in Speedway, ''Tapes, Breaks and Heartaches''.Morton, D (2017) “Tapes, Breaks and Heartaches””

External links

Hackney Hawks

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, David James 1953 births Living people British speedway riders English motorcycle racers Hackney Hawks riders Wolverhampton Wolves riders Sheffield Tigers riders Ellesmere Port Gunners riders Crewe Kings riders Newcastle Diamonds riders Sportspeople from Eccles, Greater Manchester 20th-century English sportsmen