Garry David Middleton (born 19 July 1948 Corowa,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

- 23 November 1994) was an Australian

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.

Career

He first came to Britain in 1967 a rode for a short time with the

Belle Vue Aces The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway club, based in Manchester. The club hold the record of having won the top tier League championship 13 times. They currently compete in the SGB Premiership, racing at The National Speedway Stadium, with ...

and the

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 getting a permanent ride with the

Wimbledon Dons The Wimbledon Dons were a professional motorcycle speedway team who operated from the Wimbledon Stadium, Plough Lane in London.Jacobs, N. ''Speedway in London'', The track opened in 1928 and the Dons operated there from 1929 until 1991. They ...

. He stayed with the Dons for the 1968 season but in 1969 he moved to the Hackney Hawks. 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 ...

from 1969 until 1971. In 1972 he moved to the Oxford Rebels following a contract dispute with promoter Len Silver. Middleton also raced as an International rider for Australia.

Middleton incidents

He was nicknamed 'Cass the Gas' as he was a real showman and made his feelings known about a variety of subjects. In 1969 he was involved in an incident with Roy Trigg 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 ...

. Garry tried to forcefully dive under Roy but Roy saw him and slowed down, leaving Middleton to shoot straight past him into the safety fence. Middleton then went into the pits into his toolbox and pulled out a handgun. He had to be dragged from the pits to avoid further trouble.Fenn, C.(2003). ''Hackney Speedway, Friday at Eight''. In 1971, in a meeting against then

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Ole Olsen, Olsen was riding so well that he was unbeaten, passing people almost for fun. In the second half of the meeting, Middleton, to entertain the crowd, jokingly strapped two broom handles to his handlebar to stop Olsen passing him. The match referee did not share his sense of humour and fined him.

World Final appearances

World Team Cup

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phil ...

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 ...

White City Stadium White City Stadium was a stadium located in White City, London, England. Built for the 1908 Summer Olympics, it hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and other sports like swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock car ...

(with John Boulger /

Phil Crump Philip John Crump (born 9 February 1952) in Mildura, Victoria is a retired Australian Motorcycle speedway riderLawson,K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”. who attained 3rd place in the 1976 World Championship. He also won the 1976 S ...

/ Billy Sanders / Phil Herne) - Winner - 31pts (0)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton, Garry David 1948 births 1994 deaths Australian speedway riders People from New South Wales Hackney Hawks riders Wimbledon Dons riders Coventry Bees riders Belle Vue Aces riders Newcastle Diamonds riders King's Lynn Stars riders Oxford Cheetahs riders Birmingham Brummies riders Leicester Lions riders